Succession of Witches
by Becbet
Summary: [Yaoi] Zell is your average hotdog obsessed martial artist, but in an AU not too far away, he's also a Sorceress hopelessly in love with his Knight. Chaos ensues when a freak accident lands each Zell in the other's dimension. [Chapter 14 up, 05.27.06]
1. The Oath

[Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft (SquareEnix?) and not I. (As much as I wish it, Zell will never be mine. ::pouts::)]

[Notes: Alrighty, let's see if I can explain this and confuse as few people as possible. Okee…Basically, this is an AU…or…half-AU. Eh-heh… (I'm off to a bad start…) But yeah, what I mean by half-AU is that this fic takes place in two different…erm…worlds? Yeah, the canon FFVIII world, and another, freakier one, in which Zell is a Sorceress… (I'll explain it all later. .) So, in Zell-Sorceress-World, most of the characters are OOC (due do different upbringings, circumstances, etc.) but in normal FFVIII world, everyone is as in-character as I could make them. The POV alternates between the two Zells and "###" indicates a change in POV. And now to warnings… This fic contains yaoi, violence/gore, bad language, OOCness, confusion, and character bashing (mostly in the cases of Rinoa and Cid.) As well as angst, cross dressing, and slow update times. Consider yourself warned…]

**Succession of Witches**

Chapter One—The Oath

I felt like I was going to nod off at any minute; the skilled fingers combing through my hair were lulling me to sleep. I had my eyes closed anyway; the better for Ileesa, Edea's assistant, to apply my makeup. She was working on painting spirals around my eyes, or, at least, that's what it felt like. The cool face-paint was causing me to break out in goosebumps.

But meanwhile, Edea was lacing beads into my hair; her slender fingers gently braiding it into perfection. Though my hair only came down to about my shoulders, she was making the most of it; threading little bells and other ornaments into the mass of thin, golden braids. Or, that's what she had been doing the last time I had had my eyes open.

I wanted to fidget, to squirm away from them both; but after years of strict training, that urge was quelled easily. I had to play my part as succinctly as the rest of them, and if that meant sitting still while Edea and her train of girls decked me out like a doll, then I was going to sit still, dammit, and not say a word about it. And now, I wouldn't have been able to anyway. Ileesa had moved down to my lips, grasping my chin in her bony fingers and instructing me to open my mouth. I did as I was asked, and the woman immediately pressed a stick of makeup to my bottom lip, covering the surface entirely. I felt it was safe to open my eyes.

I recognized Ileesa and Edea right off, but I had a little trouble placing the being between them. Was that me? I looked like a…Like a, well, a _girl_. Edea and Ileesa had done a good job, then; I was the perfect picture of a Sorceress. Except for a few loose braids and dangling ornaments, my hair had been pulled up, pinned into place by a pair of expensive looking combs, from both of which hung small chimes. Colorful beads had been wound into serpentine patterns and helped to hold my hair into place. Edea was just sitting back in her chair, smiling at me in the mirror.

Ileesa was just finishing, as well. She applied one last layer of gloss to my lips and capped the lipstick, moving back to examine her work with sharp green eyes. Ileesa, too, hadn't slacked off in her work. She had started with my tattoo, pasting jewels that shone too brightly to be fake on my skin, and then extending the striking black mark by adding dark purple that gradually faded the farther it went. It ended up curling into the left side of my mouth, disappearing easily into my lipstick, which was also a deep purple. On the right side of my face, Ileesa had mimicked the tattoo with more face-paint, only making it significantly smaller. Both markings, however, were extended into my eye make-up, which was mostly black, with hints of crimson and purple. Ileesa had started out by outlining my blue orbs with kohl (I'm surprised I still remember the word) and working from there. I hardly even resembled myself anymore. My lips seemed fuller, my eyes brighter, and my hair simply amazing. I must have sat and gawked at myself for a full five minutes before Edea lay a soft hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ready, Zell?" she asked, "We need to get you into your dress."

Nodding stupidly, I followed her and Ileesa out, sparing one final glance at the strange girl in the mirror.

###

I finally moved away from the mirror, satisfied that my hair was gelled securely in place. I had maybe fifteen minutes left until we were supposed to meet in front of the elevator. My uniform was on, my hair was as vertical as it was gonna get, and I wasn't getting any calmer. It wasn't so much the exam that bothered me—Well, obviously it _was_ the exam, but it was also the fact that I had no idea who my teammates were gonna be. I really didn't care who they were, really, so long as they were nice and easy to get along with. And knew what they were doing.

One time, I had been paired with this kid, Ella, who hadn't a clue what she was doing. We had been set loose in the Training Center by an instructor who didn't give a damn whether we came out alive or not. Not three yards in and she was freaking out. _"Was it supposed to be this hot? This quiet? Where are all the monsters?"_ And of course, as soon as she said it, one of those lizards on steroids, a T-Rexuar, had to show it's ugly tail. Ella had gone sprinting back the way she had come so fast that she left an after-image; one that, thankfully, distracted the T-Rexuar enough for me to scoot my little booty out just as fast. I could be pretty hot-headed, but I wasn't foolish enough to take on a frickin' T-Rexuar _by myself_. Our instructor didn't see my logic, unfortunately, and would have been inclined to fail us both had he not been replaced by Instructor Trepe.

So yeah, I was not looking for a repeat of Ella.

And where had all this reminiscing led me? Absolutely nowhere. If possible, I was more jittery than before. Oh well, there were about ten minutes left; I'd just slip on my gloves and head on down and practice my moves. Shadow-boxing was not only a relief from boredom, but a relaxant for my nerves. I could kill two birds with one stone.

###

"There," Ileesa said at last, sounding quite satisfied with herself. She stood back and looked me over once, twice…

"He looks beautiful, Leesa," Edea crooned, coming to stand behind the other woman. "You did an excellent job on his dress."

_His_ dress. Yeah. This was great. Priceless. Someone get a frickin' camera.

"I was afraid the bodice would be too loose, but it seems to have turned out alright. We're just lucky he's built."

Oh, for the love of…

Edea giggled, hiding the noise behind the slender fingers of her left hand. "Come now, Zell, don't look so angry; you look wonderful. Come over here and take a look in the mirror."

I didn't want to; I _really_ didn't want to… But, being as obedient as ever, I agreed with a polite nod, stepping down from the stool I had been stood up on and padding barefoot over to the mirror. That girl was there again. I scowled at her, and she scowled back; the effect turned comical by the layers of makeup and long, black dress. The hem brushed the ground, leaving a long train behind. The sleeves were also long, though they were split at the elbows and thusly fanned out. The girl had grabbed up a bunch of one sleeve in her left hand. Edea came up to stand behind her, smiling, and fastened an intricate necklace around her neck. One after another, similar necklaces followed, till the low-cut neckline of the dress was almost completely hidden.

"Here, Zell," Edea said, and I turned away from the girl, my necklaces and hair ornaments clinking together. I sounded like a wind chime. Edea was holding out a box, from which it was apparent she had gotten the necklaces. "Grab a few of these bracelets and put them on. Any will do, really."

Obeying once again, without any complaint, I reached into the box and removed a handful of bracelets, which were immediately put on. I was just thankful my ears weren't pierced; who knows what these two women would have given me to wear. Something long and dangly, no doubt, that made melodious noises when I walked. Tch.

"Beautiful," Edea said happily, as if it was her dressed up instead of me.

I silently fiddled with my sleeve, wishing we could get this ceremony over already; I was starting to get nervous. Waiting always made me nervous; it gave me too much time to think. And now, after waiting hours for these women to finish playing dress-up, I had had plenty of time to think, and my miscreant mind had created all sorts of wonderful scenarios for me about all the different ways that I could screw up. At least I looked pretty.

I couldn't quite stifle the snort; both Ileesa and Edea turned to stare at me. "It's nothing," I assured them quickly, "I was just thinking."

They exchanged a _look_ and Ileesa clucked softly to herself. Edea bustled towards me, slipping her thin fingers around my arm. "Alright, dear, but now that you're ready, I think it's time we get downstairs; the ceremony's supposed to start at noon exactly and we'll be late if we don't hurry."

I nodded and let her steer me out the door. "Good luck," Ileesa called after me. I wondered if Edea had caught her sarcasm.

Dressed as I was, walking with Edea and two mute SeeDs as an escort, I felt like an entirely different person. My whole life had whirled down to this single moment, and I was sick of looking out for traps left to trip me up. I _knew_ that I was going to screw this up. I had done alright so far; I had gone through countless other ceremonies without making a fool of myself, yet I was still worried. This one required participation. Before, I had merely had to sit around and pretend to listen, but this time I had to _speak_, and, what was worse, I had to kiss someone.

Not a slobbery-soul mate-I Now Pronounce You kiss, but two pecks on someone's checks. And why was this bothering me? Because I hadn't a clue who that someone was. They could be male, female, fifty or thirteen, and it wouldn't matter. It had been Dr. Odine's job to choose for me the perfect Knight; I had had absolutely no say in the matter. Of course, I had never had any say in anything. Since I was a child, I had been raised to be perfect, to be a, in essence, a god. And being a god came with copious amounts of responsibility, or so had it been drilled into my head since I was five. Training, training, and more training had emptied me out to make room for what I was to become. For what it was _expected_ of me to become.

So of course, my opinion was not needed, my opinion was _looked down on_. I was a vessel, not a person, and my sole job was to be filled. And I had been. Edea's Power had been given to me willingly; she didn't need it anymore. And so it was that I went from Zell the orphan, to Zell the all-powerful Sorceress. It's funny how life works out.

And now I was to be fitted with a Knight, with a person who would follow me around for life, whether I liked them or not. The thought was enough to make anyone sick.

Edea's fingers tightened around my arm and I snapped out of my thoughts, looking up at the packed room we had just entered. People who deemed themselves important enough sat on both sides of the room, staring at us intently as we waited in the doorway. Our SeeD escorts drew me and Edea apart; one looped her arm in his and proceeded forward, the other offered his to me and I took it, wondering how many in the audience even knew I was a man.

At the front of the room waited Cid, Odine, and Martine. And my Knight, I imagined, was that bulky shape hidden only too effectively by the shadows.

My stomach was doing flip-flops, determined to show me how much it wanted to run away and join the circus. Well, I'm sorry to inform you, dear organ, but there's to be no trapeze act for us.

Walking beside my escort, who for all the world appeared to be an animated block of wood, I felt suddenly like I was walking through a dream. The whole thing was like a parody of marriage. Here I was, the blushing bride, decked out in black, while my loving groom hid in the corner, gleefully awaiting his kiss.

I hate my imagination.

We halted a few feet behind Edea and her escort, and the two SeeDs unlinked their arms, almost simultaneously, bowed to Edea and I, and backed away. I looked up to Edea; that had been the signal for the ceremony to begin, and she smiled at me, before turning briskly and walking the rest of the way to join her husband. I took a deep breath, willed myself one more time _not to screw up_ and stepped forward. Huh. That wasn't so bad. I stepped again, and again, realizing quite suddenly that I was still barefoot, and again…

I noticed that someone was playing music in the background. Whether it was live or pre-recorded, I couldn't tell, but it was soothing to hear nonetheless, and I stepped with more confidence.

Ahead of me, the figure in the shadows finally stepped into the light, fixing me with intelligent blue eyes.

Oh…Oh, Hyne…

Not him…

Not…

###

_Seifer fucking Almasy!_

Our Squad Leader was Seifer FUCKING Almasy.

Oh…This was great…

Wonderful…

Peachy-keen…

If I didn't relax, the tension was gonna pop an eyeball outta my skull. My teeth grated together and I glared at the asshole in question. The sentiment was lost on him, however, as he was leaning back against his seat; eyes closed and smug grin plastered on his face. The urge to hit him was excruciating. Just once…Just once I'd like to knock that smile off his face…To have _him_ at _my_ mercy…

Hyne, he was such a prick.

Our standard-issue Garden vehicle bounced along on its slow way to Balamb. Directly across from me, Instructor Trepe was massaging her temples; her glasses lay on her lap and she pinched the bridge of her nose and rubbed her eyes before replacing them. She lifted her head and blinked once, twice, at me before smiling warmly. I returned her grin, though mine was butchered my by still-gritted teeth. I imagine I looked much the psycho killer. Trepe didn't seem to notice, though, and I was grateful for her tact.

The vehicle was slowing down, so I could only assume we had reached our destination. That was perfectly fine with me; the sooner this awkward silence was broken, the better.

###

The ceremony was almost complete. Odine had said his bit, then Edea, then Odine again, and then I had uttered my little spiel. Even now, not five minutes after my speech, I couldn't remember what it was I had said. Something about trusting Seifer with my life.

Hyne, I was gonna be sick…

This was just too much. Not only did I have to wear a dress, layers of makeup, and recite some goobledy-gook in front of hundreds of people, but I had a lifetime of torment to look forward to as well. Not that I had anything personal against Seifer; he had never done anything to me. But his reputation was horrible. He cussed, fought, beat the shit out of Junior Classmen who split coke on his pants… Yeah. That's the type of guy Seifer was; the guy I was virtually _married_ to for as long as I held Edea's powers.

I was so nervous I felt like I was gonna wet myself. Never had I been this jittery, this on edge. I was so tense that if anything set me off, I'd just implode. And hell, was that a pretty awful feeling.

Seifer took a step back; he was done with his part, and I hadn't even heard a word he'd said. Oh well, deep breath… Time for Zelly to royally screw himself over…

I was moving before I knew what was happening. My bare feet brushed the carpet inaudibly as I crossed the few feet to where Seifer stood. Edea was speaking again; she was saying something about the joining of Knight and Sorceress as being a happy, joyful time. Oh yeah, if I was any happier my smile would cut my head in two. Tch.

Seifer was watching me approach. His eyes told me nothing; his expression was blank. What was he thinking? Was he just as upset about this whole thing as I was? I'm sure he'd much rather be a low-ranking SeeD than Knight (babysitter) to some cross dressing, pathetic excuse for a Sorceress. (Edea had run out of heiresses, then she had found me.)

Maybe he saw me for what I really was: just an instrument. Garden's precious toy to be brought out and put on display.

I was stalling. My thoughts were keeping me from the inevitable. I stood not a foot away from Seifer and yet I had never felt so alone. I had to crane my neck to look up at him, and my various chimes and bells clattered together. He was staring down at me, still devoid of emotion, and I felt a sudden bolt of panic hit me: How would I reach him? Now was the point in the ceremony where the Sorceress would kiss their Knight's cheeks, signifying some sort of new bond that I really didn't give a shit about at the moment. Should I just grab his hair and yank? Would he hit me if I did that?

Oooh…Fuck tall people.

Edea was almost to the end of her speech and I _still didn't know what to do_. Luckily for me, Seifer turned out to be less of an ass than rumors described him as. He leaned down, that single movement eliminating the little space remaining between us, and cupped my elbow, pulling me forward. Internally freaking out and screaming my head off, I gripped the taller man's forearms for balance and stood up on my tiptoes to place a single quick kiss on each of his cheeks.

I leaned away, still holding onto his arms, and glanced over his shoulder to Edea, who was beaming at me as she finished her part, bowed slightly to us, and backed up a few steps.

And it was over.

I had to fight from uttering a sigh of relief. I hadn't screwed up.


	2. Martial Law

[Notes: Okies... I've got a few things to mention before I set you free to read the story. First, this chappie starts out from AU-Zell's POV and basically picks up a few days/weeks after the ceremony-thing from the last chapter. (Anyone confused yet? Just checking...) Second, I still don't quite get to the actual switching-worlds bit in this chapter. (That happens next time, folks.) _But_, I already have chapters three and four typed up and I've started work on five. All I need to do to is find a computer with both an internet connection and a functioning floppy drive and I can upload them. Thirdly, I'd like to extend thanks to both my beta-reader, Alicia, and Zeto, my sole reviewer. (Thank you, sole reviewer!) I hope this chapter is slightly less confusing...]

**Succession of Witches**

Chapter Two—Martial Law

"Kramer got word from Martine today," Seifer said as he entered the room, closing the door silently behind him.

I looked up from the book I had been reading (another version of the history of the Sorceress and her Knight) and watched mutely as Seifer crossed our small living room to come and stand in front of me. I didn't have to say anything, I knew by now that Seifer would relate this new information without any prodding from me.

"Martine wants you in Galbadia. Kramer wouldn't tell me why, though," Seifer sighed, dropping down on the cushion next to me. "I presume he's jealous of all the attention you're giving Balamb."

"Balamb is my home," I said simply, looking back down at my book. I stared at the page until the type blurred together, making reading impossible.

Seifer snorted, resting his head on the back of the couch and looking up at the ceiling. "Martine doesn't give a fuck. He probably just wants you to parade around his precious Garden, smiling and waving and drawing a crowd."

I grit my teeth; I hated politics. "I'm not going," I told Seifer simply, knowing that, _once again_, I had no choice in the matter. If Cid wanted me to go to Galbadia, then I was going to Galbadia.

Unfortunately, Seifer had been my Knight long enough to know this as well. "We won't have to stay there long," he said in a softer tone of voice. We had been through this dozens of times before: I'd refuse an order (only within earshot of my loyal Knight, of course) and he'd do his best to warm me up to the idea, if only so I wouldn't bitch the whole trip.

I shook my head, still refusing to look at him.

"Have you ever been to Galbadia?"

"Yes," I said through gritted teeth. (A good bit of my training to become a Sorceress had taken place in Martine's Garden.) "I hate the place."

Seifer shifted and the couch squeaked in protest. "I haven't been," he said, "I've never even left Balamb."

Oh, I hated it when he did this to me. "Fine then," I snapped, springing to my feet. "You go!" I was stomping into my room before he could say anything else, slamming the door behind me.

###

"Squall," I whined, dragging my feet, "Let's stop. Please, Squall? We haven't rested since we fought that damn…thing."

"Balamb's just up ahead," Squall replied simply, his voice slightly hinting at irritation.

Selphie scooted up next to me, hugging my right arm. "Yeah, Squall," she said, weariness dragging her voice down a pitch. "Diablos was almost too much for us; Zell and I are about to drop." She had pulled us both to a stop and was rubbing her face against the sleeve of my jacket. I had the urge to pat her head. "And you junctioned him," she added pointedly, "Surely you're just as tired as we are?"

"We can rest on the train," Squall said and continued walking, never once glancing back at us.

I looked down at Selphie and she looked up at me. She sighed, pressing her face into my jacket sleeve one more time before letting go and striding forward. I watched her for a few moments, having to stifle a laugh at the way she mimicked Squall's walk, looking back at me to see if I had noticed. I grinned at her, saluted, and jogged up to join them.

Balamb was as peaceful as ever; everyone stopped to say hello as soon as they caught sight of me. It was kind of nice, really, to be surrounded by a group of people that were so amiable; to be welcomed for once, instead of shunned. That was why I liked Selphie; by nature, she was a kind person, welcoming of almost-anyone. She had even tried to be nice to Seifer.

Squall, on the other hand…

"Zell!" the old druggie outside the repair shop waved me over. Selphie followed eagerly, giggling into her hands, while Squall strolled over to the drawpoint across from us.

"Yeah?" I asked warily; the guy was harmless, but he had a tendency to ask some pretty…eh…strange questions. I guess I was just lucky this time.

"Why don't you go'n say hi to yer mom?"

Oh, yeah…My mom…

"Sure," I agreed, dragging Selphie away and waving half-heartedly. The skinny brunette called out an enthusiastic goodbye that brought a smile to the man's face. Squall followed along behind us, obviously upset that _even more of his time_ was going to be wasted on Zell's hick friends. The jerk.

"Which one is your house, Zell?" Selphie asked excitedly, grasping my left hand in both of hers and hopping up and down. Her hair bobbed comically.

"That one," I smiled, pointing, my irritation at Squall momentarily forgotten.

Selphie giggled and pulled me forward. Squall followed silently behind.

"Hi, Ma! I'm home!" I called as I entered, automatically spotting my mother at her post in our small kitchen.

"Zell?" she queried, turning and wiping her hands on her apron. "Is that you?" she smiled as soon as she caught sight of us.

"Yeah…Uh, Ma, these are my…erm…friends," I wasn't sure how Squall'd take that one; I knew Selphie'd be delighted. "This is Selphie," the happy girl in yellow extended her hand, smiling widely. "And this is Squall," our party leader just nodded, looking away almost immediately.

"It's nice to meet you," Selphie said to my mom, still shaking her hand.

"And you too, dear," my mom replied, not seeming to mind that Selphie was unwilling to release her hand. Eventually, though, Selphie did, and instantly demanded to see my room.

"No," I said outright, "It's sacred, y'know? I don't let anyone in my room," I looked pointedly at my mom, but she just laughed.

"Oh, you three get along now," she said, ushering us out the door. "I'm sure you have more important things to do than hang out with an old woman like me. Now scoot, scoot," and she made little scooting motions with her hands.

Squall was out the door before either me or Selphie, and thus missed the bear hug my mother tried to suffocate me with. On the short stroll to the trains, Selphie couldn't stop telling me how cute it was.

This was gonna be a long trip.

###

"Martine promises you won't have to be there long," Seifer reminded me, stuffing another pair of boxers into my suitcase. The only way to get me packed was for him to do it himself. I was adamantly refusing to assist in anything relating to my transportation to Galbadia. I was just lucky he was in a good mood and hadn't thrown anything at me yet. The last thing I needed was a pair of boxers in my face, smearing my makeup. Ack, makeup. Ileesa and Edea had had fun dressing me up again. This time, they had settled on a dress that was far tighter than the first and I had had the hardest time figuring out how to walk in it. Seifer had laughed his frickin' head off.

"All you have to do," Seifer continued, oblivious to the scowl I was directing at him, "is check out this magical…whatever it is…follow Edea's orders and come home. It doesn't sound so bad to me."

"That's because you don't have to worry about screwing up," I whined, tugging at a sleeve.

Seifer chuckled. "You'll do fine. You handled the situation in Balamb well enough."

"That was different. In Balamb, all I had to do was subdue a rampaging swarm of Bite Bugs; and you did most of the work!"

Seifer shrugged. "Have a little faith in yourself; I know you'll do okay."

I felt a blush fighting to stain my cheeks. I looked up at my Knight; he had stopped, right in the middle of folding a night-shirt, and was looking at me with the strangest expression on his face. It was almost…calculating…but a lot softer. Caring, maybe? Was that the word I was looking for?

Nah.

Seifer grinned suddenly, tossing my shirt carelessly into the suitcase, and strolled forward. I narrowed my eyes and watched him warily. What was he up to?

I found out that answer soon enough.

Seifer pounced, grabbing my wrists and pinning me to the bed. I yelped in surprise and tried to fight him off. "If you're not careful," my Knight warned, laughing, "You'll mess up your hair."

"That's not fair," I pouted, but stopped struggling, I felt the blush threatening to surface again.

Seifer just grinned his idiotic grin, watching me scant moments before saying, "You'll do fine, Zell; I won't let anything bad happen." And then, much to my horror—delight?—my Knight leaned down and kissed me lightly on the nose. Then, just as quickly, he had released me and was back to packing. I lay stunned on the bed, blinking up at the ceiling stupidly, until Seifer chuckled and threw a pair of boxers at me.

###

A few trippy dreams and Selphie sing-a-longs later, we arrived in Timber, located Watts, and found ourselves in the middle of one crap-tastic plan. Thank you, Cid, for loaning us out to a bunch of terrorists who hadn't the foggiest idea _what_ they were doing. Some headmaster you are. Tch.

I glared at the toy model of Deling's train for the last time. I was with Selphie, we should just blow the thing to smithereens and be done with it. But no, the Forest Owls' "princess" wanted to _kidnap_ the president. Okay, big "What the Fuck?" sign there. You can't just _kidnap_ a president; that's the kind of shit that starts wars. I hated that Squall was going along with it, that because of Cid's _freakishly vague orders_ we _had_ to go along with it.

I was pissed, and I had to be _nice_, because these people were _paying _us. Oh yeah, "The customer is always right."

What a load of…

"Zell." What was that? Was Squall actually _addressing_ me? And here I was, under the impression that he'd rather eat himself alive than have to converse with me for over five seconds. Wow. Now I felt special. Tch.

Yeah, I know, I'm a bitter little bastard.

"Yeah?" I turned around to face him. He looked grumpy (good for him). Was it time to go, already?

"We're heading out; make sure your GFs are junctioned."

"Okay, sure," and I did just that.

###

Ahh, Galbadia, how I loathe thee… We had been here merely three hours and already I was sick of the place. And because I disliked the place so intensely, Seifer figured that, as my Knight, it was his job to dislike it just as much. He had taken to glaring at anyone who looked like they were approaching me for a chat, and that had changed their minds quick enough. I had never been so grateful to anyone in my life.

Finally, after a brief conversation with Martine, Seifer and I had been shown to my quarters, and I had locked the door as quickly as possible, pulling an over-stuffed armchair into a corner and curling up in it. I watched silently as Seifer unpacked our things, wondering if it'd be okay for me to change now; I had already done my "wave and smile at the public" bit and I was ready for a nap.

I decided at last that I didn't care if I got in trouble or not, that I _had_ to get out of this dress. So I pulled some shorts and a T-shirt from the suitcase Seifer was unpacking and went to the bathroom to change.

Of course, I quickly came to an impasse.

"Seifer?"

He was there instantly, scouring the room for threats.

"Uh," I blushed quite an interesting shade of red. "I can't get my dress off…"

From the mirror, I could tell he was trying not to laugh, but he was failing miserably, and his smothered mirth ended up slipping out as a series of snorts, which, of course, caused me to laugh at _him_. "I should have brought Ileesa with me, after all," I said, grinning at my Knight in the glass.

"Ahh, I can handle it," but he didn't look so sure. His fingers hovered uncertainly over my shoulders as he tried to sight the device that was holding my dress together.

"There's a little…clip…thing," and I tried to point out where it was.

"Okay, okay, I see it," and his brows furrowed in concentration as he fiddled with one clip after another. It took him awhile, but eventually Seifer became quite skilled at unclipping my dress. Finally, he had reached the last clip, located (get this) right above my ass. I couldn't tell who was more uncomfortable, me or him, but I had to go and think about the kiss (however innocent) before we left and then I was blushing even more.

"Do you need any help with your hair?" Seifer asked, refusing to move his eyes from my back. (Was he looking at my ass? What a pervert…)

"I probably will," I told him truthfully, "But I'll just get you to help me after I change."

Seifer nodded and, after one final glance at my ass (Pervert, pervert, pervert!) started for the door.

"Uhm, thanks," I called after him, already reaching for my T-shirt.

"Welcome."

I was out of my dress and into those shorts and T-shirt in no time flat. The change from confined to comfortable was most welcome, and I was smiling happily as I emerged from the bathroom, dropping my dress in a pile on the bed.

It was also wonderful to be free of the layers of makeup Ileesa had painted on me before I left. I patted my cheeks happily and sat down on the bed next to Seifer, who had located my Sorceress history book and was flipping through the pages. "You can help me with my hair now," I told him cheerily, my mood having turned a 180 since I changed my clothes. Ahh, freedom…

Seifer grunted and set the book aside, scooting over to sit cross-legged behind me. "How?" he asked, his voice holding the most confused tone.

"I don't know how Edea does it, she just does. Just…Fiddle with it…"

Seifer grunted again and set to work, first extracting the combs and some of the bigger ornaments and setting them in a little pile beside us. "How do you put up with this?" he grumbled, currently baffled over a string of beads he was trying to remove.

"It's my job," I told him, a bit of my good mood slipping away, "I do what they tell me."

"But you're a Sorceress," he pointed out, succeeding in removing the beads, "Shouldn't you get to do what you want?"

"No. If I started being too independent, they'd start fearing my powers, and they'd try even harder to keep me in line. I'd rather be a doll than an implement of fear."

And then, Seifer did something so surprising, so unexpected, that I found myself enjoying it. He leaned against me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's not your fault," but I had the sudden urge to cry, to turn around and bury my face against his chest and just sob until nothing mattered anymore. Yeah, I hated what I was, what I had to be to keep everyone happy; but there was nothing I could do about it. And Seifer must have realized that, be it by the tone of my voice or what-have-you, and that sudden, unexpected, understanding caught me off-guard.

"I'm glad you're my Knight," I told him, and he squeezed me tighter, planting a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Me too."

###

Needless to say, Rinoa's happy little kidnapping plan was a failure. But there's no need to worry! Cause now she's thought of something _even better_! Oh yeah, just feel the sarcasm; it's rolling off me in waves.

The leader of the Forest Owls had just been struck by the wonderful idea of _declaring Timber's independence on LIVE TV!_ Oh my goodness, the excitement was uncontrollable. Tch. How did Rinoa think this was going to help? Timber was still occupied by Galbadia's soldiers. We were gonna get arrested as soon as we stepped in front of that camera. I'm sorry to sound so caustic, but little Miss Princess needed to become reacquainted with Mr. Reality.

The only highlight to the entire day had been when Squall bitched at her. Hee. How funny, in a mean-spirited sort of way. The girl had gone running off, nearly knocking Selphie off the stairs in the process of getting away. The skinny little SeeD in yellow had shook her fist menacingly after Rinoa as she'd passed. Oh, it was grand. Selphie couldn't look threatening to save her life. But I appreciated her sentiment, at any rate.

And now where were we? Standing stupidly around while a Sorceress sat, happy-as-a-clam, next to a man we had tried to kidnap merely hours previous. Galbadia's ambassador? What kind of shit was that? Not the kind I wanted to get stuck knee-deep in, obviously.

But guess what? We were about to trip and land face-first in this steaming pile of Sorceress excrement.

"Timber Team!" yelled the flickering TV screen above our heads. "Get in here now; we need your help!"

Ah yes, shit.

And so we were off, fighting our way into the TV station, only to find that (gasp) Seifer had taken the president captive. Quistis was there, doing her best to calm him down and get him to move the edge of his gunblade just a wee bit away from Deling's neck. But Seifer, being the complete _ass_ that he is, obstinately refused. Okay, wrong move, buddy.

Then, I opened my big mouth, and royally screwed us over.

Go me!


	3. Find Your Way

[Author's Notes: Yay! Chapter three! This has been finished for some time, but I've had soooo many problems with it that it's almost unbelievable. I just hope you people appreciate the shit I had to do to get this chapter out to you so soon. It hasn't even gone through my beta reader yet, so it's still pretty raw.

Also, I have quite a few problems with this chapter. The biggest would have to be the utter amount of _angst_ on AU Zell's part, especially right near the end. I'm afraid I might have overdone it a bit... Any _helpful_ suggestions on how I might improve things are most welcome.

Aaaand...I wanna thank a few people: my reviewers ( revlis and Air dragon in particular ), and James, my little brother (because he has a knack for remembering the tiny, unimportant details that I only end up needing to remember for my fics.)]

[Quick warning: There's _a lot_ of cussing in this chapter, especially right at the end. If that bothers you, then don't read.]

...

**Succession of Witches  
**Chapter Three—Find Your Way

...

Angry. Hyne, I was so frickin' _angry_. Never in my life did I want to kill someone as much as I did now. Seifer...As soon as I caught up with Seifer, he was gonna die. Of course, I had the little matter of the president to deal with, but fuck, all I cared about right now was squeezing Seifer's neck till his eyeballs popped out and rolled onto the floor. Hmm...Fittingly grotesque.

And then, there he was, sans president. Oooh...How I loved my luck. "SEIFER!!" Yes, angry. Very angry.

He turns and... "Dincht?" Confusion. How grand.

Wait... Who the hell was that woman?

But anger can only too easily blot out reason and thus...

I lunged...

And completely missed Seifer.

Now doesn't that _suck_?

But physics and gravity always have ways of screwing you over; so instead of stumbling to a halt, my momentum carried me forward...right at the mysterious woman. I sure did hope she'd get out of the way in time.

Oh, good, she just backed through that wall, no way I can hit her now.

Oh...

Wall...

Fuck.

But instead of "SLAM!!—unconsciousness" as I was expecting, I fell through the wall right after Creepy Woman in Black.

As I continued my plummet into darkness, I heard Seifer screaming after me, "DINCHT! Get yer ass back up here!"

Well guess what, doofus, I would if I could, but spontaneously learning how to fly isn't something one does every day.

Hyne, Seifer was such a prick.

###

"Zell," Seifer whispered, gently shaking my shoulder. I didn't want him to know I was awake yet, so I snuggled deeper into my pillow, tightening my fingers around a handful of his shirt. He sighed and pressed his forehead against the shoulder he had been shaking. "Edea says that now would be the best time for you to drain the paramagic source." 

I groaned into the pillow, pulling myself up by the hand-hold I had on Seifer's shirt. "Of course _now_ is the best time; right when I finally get to sleep," I grumbled, rubbing at my eyes.

Seifer stood, stretching, and smiled down at me. "Well look at it this way, the sooner you fix their problem for them, the sooner we can get back to Balamb."

Well, I guess he had a point...

"Fine. Help me find my shoes..."

....................................................  
  
Martine was waiting for us at the end of the hall. He took in my unusually disheveled appearance and scowled at me. Hey, he wouldn't like parading around in a dress either. Or maybe he would...You never could know, with some people...

"Where is it?" I asked, as politely as I could. Martine and his people could never even _suspect_ that I was unhappy in the role they had laid out for me. Seifer knew, though, and glared down at Martine in all of his pissed-off-Knight glory. Having him as a shadow gave me more confidence than I had ever had.

"Just this way," Martine replied curtly, not even looking behind himself to spare us a glance.

Bastard.

'Just this way' turned out to be down two hallways and an abrupt left. I remembered the location from when I had last visited a few years ago; the room was one in which I had spent the majority of my training. Seeing my astonishment, Martine smirked evilly, looking for all the world like a constipated goat, and turned in place to condescend on us.

"I'm sure you recognize the room, my Lord," he stated simply, gesturing behind him with a little turn of his hand.

"Yes," I refused to let his attitude bother me, and instead brushed past him, showing as much disrespect as I dared. Seifer followed me, almost plowing Martine over. Hmm, yes, I was definitely glad Seifer was my Knight. "Of course I recognize it," I was forced to spend weeks on end in this place, you ass, "I received much of my training here," night after night after sleepless night of mastering every known magic technique, "I don't see why you'd think I'd forget it," you little rat-bastard.

"Time passes, my Lord, I had only assumed you'd have had better things to occupy your thoughts with," and with that, he leered, the little prick _leered_, at Seifer, his eyes flicking meaningfully to my Knight and then back to me.

Oh, Hyne, give me the strength not to kill him...

"It doesn't take much for _anything_ to be better than Galbadia, sir," Seifer told Martine, weaving around to take my hand and lead me forward.

The headmaster turned red with anger behind us and I had to bite my lip to stifle my laughter. Thank you, Seifer, thank you, thank you...

"Headmaster," I said as soon as I had control over myself again, "How long did you say the source has been here?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Martine grumbled, scowling at Seifer, "But the first time I noticed it was at least a week or so after the Knight ceremony."

Okay, so that didn't help any...

I stepped farther into the room. I had been taught how to sense paramagic, but I just wasn't picking anything up. I couldn't see the source, or sense it... How had _Martine_ stumbled across it? I looked up at Seifer, who was scanning the room curiously. Tugging on his hand to get his attention, I asked him, in a voice low enough for only him to hear, "Can you see it?" If it was one thing Seifer had over me (besides his height, which I still hadn't forgiven him for) it was his eyesight. Seifer was just good at spotting things. He was the epitome of bodyguard.

"I don't think..." Seifer trailed off, squinting his eyes. "Wait, yeah. Over there, Zell. See?" And he turned my face in the direction he was indicating.

"I don't see anything." It was just a patch of empty floor.

"Look closer; the floor ripples."

...the hell? The floor..._ripples_?

But it did. The shiny tile floor had a definite aqueous quality to it; it moved in tiny little waves.

Well, fuck.

"I'll check it out," I told them, trodding over to the puddle of paramagic.

"Be careful," Seifer whispered after me.

I nodded but didn't turn back around. This wouldn't be too hard. The puddle was basically a big frickin' drawpoint; all I had to do was draw from it. In theory, that didn't sound very hard; but reality always has ways of surprising you.

I stood as still and straight as possible, moving my hands slowly upwards in front of me. When they were level with my chest, I formed them in a slight triangular shape, steepling my fingers together and moving my thumbs to form the base of the triangle. I concentrated on the source, watching it ripple infinitely. With all of my being directed fully at the paramagic source, I was finally able to pick up a distinct magic signal. It started as a tingling in my fingertips, and spread throughout my entire body.

Now all I had to do was grab ahold of that feeling, and _pull_.

I never would have expected the source to pull back.

The first tug caught me off guard and I was yanked to my knees. The impact caused me to lose just a bit of my concentration and the source _pulled again_. Seifer was calling my name.

But the source...Focus on the source. Pulling pulling... Concentrate on that tingle and _yank_, dammit, _yank_.

But I was already too close to it, all my struggling did was help draw me closer to the rippling portion of the floor. Okay, this was bad...

"Zell!"

No, Seifer, don't break my concentration...

"Zell!!"

My mind was shifting its focus to his voice.

My hands fell from their triangle-configuration.

And I was turning...

The source pulled harder...

Seifer was coming towards me. He was probably running, but time had seemed to have slowed down, and I knew he wouldn't make it. He knew he wouldn't make it. Our eyes locked and he reached for me...

The source grabbed hold of me first, encircling my leg and dragging me down...

My head slammed down on the floor, the impact flooding my vision with white.

I was going...down down, into the source. It was swallowing me whole, and I couldn't do anything to fight it.  
  
_Help me...  
_  
"ZELL!!"  
  
_Seifer...  
_  
_Help me..._

###

Someone was calling my name, I was sure of it. At first I had thought it was just part of the natural hum of...wherever I was, but it had quickly grown louder, and louder...And then it was my name. Whoever was calling me sounded highly upset.  
  
"_Help me..."_  
  
Okaaay...Where had that come from? It was far clearer than the voice calling my name.

...

Was there someone in here with me?

_"...me..."_

"Where are you?" I called out, craning my neck and blindly searching the blackened tunnel I had been falling through for quite some time now. My voice sounded raw, pained; and it was no wonder. I must have spent the first couple hours of my freefall screaming my head off. Not a fun experience, let me tell you.

But the voice didn't call out again.

So I was back to falling—floating—whatever it was I was doing currently. I closed my eyes again, stretching out my limbs in an attempt to feel the barriers (if there were any) of my current locale. All I felt was a light draft of air that had come and gone various times during my slow descent. How much longer would I fall? Was there any end to this? Or was I trapped in some sort of freakish wall-wormhole that would drop me forever and ever but never let me hit the ground?

I had been through this before; countless times before. When I was caught in my yelling-my-head-off phase, I had screamed the questions into the darkness. That had been when my voice was comforting to hear; now, I much preferred the quiet.

Besides, I hated asking questions that no one intended to answer.

Ho hum.

If I didn't feel so damn heavy, I'd twiddle my thumbs.

Oh yeah, _that's _constructive. What I really needed to do was figure a way out of this mess I had gotten myself into.

Funny that until about thirty minutes ago, I had been blaming Seifer for my current state. But hey, falling aimlessly in a tunnel of blackness tends to give ya more than enough time to think things over. I still hated Seifer, he was an ass after all, but I couldn't blame him for my homicidal urges. If I hadn't been so stupid, I wouldn't have run after him in the first place; I would have just left him to Quistis. And then, chances are, he'd be the one going slowly crazy, and not me.

But then again...Who the hell was that woman? I had seen her before, that I was sure of. I mean, how many chicks are there that run around in that much black in the middle of summer?

The Sorceress had, but she hadn't been wearing that damned...mask...thing.

Wait...

Oh...

Eep.

No wonder she had just disappeared into the wall and I had had yet to run into her. So it was _her_ fault.

Wow.

Had this tunnel been intended for Seifer after all? Was the Sorceress pissed that he had tried to kill Deling? They were supposed to be partners, right?

Hmm...

So...I was trapped in a vortex of Sorceress magic?

Frickin' hell. Why was it always me that ended up in such messes? I guess I was just lucky like that. Yeah. Lucky. Tch.

And that was when I noticed it; my tunnel wasn't quite so dark anymore. In fact, it was becoming progressively brighter. And as it turned out, my happy little vortex of doom seemed to be comprised of mist. It was like I was falling upwards, into a moonlit night sky. The light became more and more concentrated; it didn't really fill the whole tunnel, but gathered at a single point, and dribbled rays down onto my eyes. I had to lift a hand to shield them as I drew closer to the (ironic, really) light at the end of the tunnel.

Fate must have had a real nice time screwing with me lately.

So then, I sat there and let the light absorb me, figuring I had nothing to lose. I had to close my eyes eventually, though, as it quickly became far too bright. But that didn't last long, either. The light softened to a normal level, and I felt it safe to look around me. And, gosh darnit, I seemed to have finally come to the end of my tunnel.

I was in a room, a simple room, with tile floors and windows and very little else. The door was wide open and excited voices bubbled through it. They were talking about the Sorceress.

Well shit. Isn't life grand?

I got to my feet, somewhat unsteadily, and swayed my way over to the entrance. Before I was even halfway there, I lost my balance and fell back on my ass. Yes, I am truly graceful.

The thud had people peeking their heads in almost instantly. As I struggled to stand back up, rubbing my sore tailbone (not my ass; I wasn't rubbing my _ass_), one of the wide-eyed persons launched himself at me.

"My Lord!" he exclaimed, helping me quickly to my feet. "Thank Hyne, you've returned!"

Okay, now I was confused. "Returned? But I've never even been here..."

The man looked positively distraught. "My Lord, now is no time for jokes! The Headmaster is in danger! Your Knight is after his head!"

Headmaster? Cid? It'd serve him right, the jerk, for sending us to be Rinoa's little playtoys.

"You must hurry! He thinks you're dead!"

Okay, was this guy _trying_ to split my skull? All this confusion was starting to hurt. "Who? Cid?" Why would Cid think I'm dead? Oh, yeah...Super- evil-Sorceress-tunnel. Whoops. Forgot.

The man looked as if he was close to tears. "No! My Lord, please, you must call off your Knight!"

It was then I noticed it: whiny-hysterics-guy was wearing a Garden uniform. He was a frickin' SeeD candidate.

"Please! Please, follow me. Even if he just sees you, he'll stop! Please, come with me..." and he was dragging me out of the room and down the hall. Well, one thing was for certain, we weren't in Balamb. Balamb didn't have so many random hallways. "You've got to save the Headmaster! Your Knight just went crazy the minute you disappeared! He thinks the Headmaster was responsible!"

No, dude, I've had plenty of time to think this through; the Sorceress is the one to blame.

But there was no use telling _him_ that; the poor guy was so rattled that he was bound to explode at any minute. But until that happened, I figured I mind as well let him take me to the Headmaster. Even if it turned out it wasn't Cid, he'd be an ally, and I figured I'd need as many of those as possible, especially after I had blabbed about Garden. (Yep, another bad move by Zell.)

"Here, my Lord, we're here," and my guide was pushing me through a large crowd gathered outside a shut door. From inside I could make out muffled shouts and the crash of things breaking. Yeah, someone was pissed. (Besides me for once. Wow.)

"And the Headmaster's in there?"

"Yes, my Lord, please hurry," and then he pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, shoving me inside and immediately slamming it behind me. I heard the unmistakable click as he locked me inside.

Sooo...

I took in the room, the chaos, blinking at upturned desks and chairs. From an adjacent room, someone was cussing up a storm. I followed the trail of obscenities, hopping over table legs and broken glass.

And then I found the Headmaster, backed into a corner by none other than Seifer. Somehow, I wasn't really that surprised.

"Seifer!" I yelled at him, almost forgetting I had decided _not_ to kill him.

And then he turned, the arm holding his gunblade going slack. The Headmaster, a man I had never seen before in my life, slinked away. But I was watching Seifer, waiting for him to make his move. Would he attack me? Yell at me for dooming Garden?

Nope.

The tall blonde instead chose to drop his weapon, dash over to me, and collapse into a heap at my feet. Then, much to my complete surprise (my jaw dropped open and everything), he hugged me around the waist and buried his face in my stomach.

And then (sweet Hyne) he pulled himself to his feet, grabbed my shoulders, bent down and...

...kissed me.

_Seifer fucking kissed me._

And...

Fuck...

I kissed him back.

Hyne help me.

###

_...help me...  
  
Someone...  
_  
And that was the state of my mind for at least fifteen minutes, and then I started screaming. Because, hell, what else are you supposed to do when you've been falling blindly for that long? Catch up on your reading? Ho- lee fuck, I think not.

So yeah, I screamed my little blonde head off. And then, when my throat started to feel as if my vocal chords were clawing to get out, I stopped, and I tried to figure out where I was. And that didn't take too long either.

I was caught, _somehow_, in a Sorceress' transport portal. And yeah, now is the time that Seifer would remind me, oh so intelligently, that I _was_ a Sorceress, and so, _surely_, I could use this to my advantage. But see, if it was one thing I was never very good at, it was translocation. I mean, of course I could do it, I was just something of a spaz at it. I just kept getting progressively worse. It finally got so bad that Edea was afraid that I might end up rematerializing in a wall. Or, oooh, fifty feet above a rocky bluff.

So she put my training on hold, and ordered that I never try it without her approval first. And, contrary to popular belief, I'm not stupid. So I didn't.

And where does all this leave me? Nowhere. That's what I was trying to get at. I couldn't safely use this portal without fear for my life; I'd just have to ride it out.

However, there was _one_ thing I could do: I could speed up the process. Once again, I found myself concentrating on what I had previously considered a paramagic source. Then, I focused my powers and sped up the portal. How was I to now that once I did, it'd be like riding a frickin' tornado?

Maybe I should really start thinking things through...

It wasn't long before I came to the end of the tunnel; shot out like a cannonball. I hit the floor hard, sliding until I ran across a heap of wire and power cords, becoming tangled and losing my momentum. I got up slowly, moaning and running my fingers across my scalp, searching for injuries.

Then... "Zell?"

It was Seifer, sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding his hands out in front of him as if he had previously been holding his face. And, Hyne, he looked...awful...

Had he been worried about me? He _was_ my Knight after all. And... I suddenly realized something, as the both of us remained frozen, blinking stupidly at each other. I...I was pretty sure I loved him. After hardly a month of knowing him...I was in love.

Hyne, since when was I such a sap?

But then, that didn't matter, did it? Because I was alive and okay and Seifer was there. All was good. So...What did I do next?

Inexpressibly happy, I ran straight at my faithful Knight, throwing my arms around him and pressing my face against his neck. I was fully expecting him to return the gesture; to laugh and kiss my forehead.

But...

"What the FUCK are you doing?!"

And then I was thrown away, landing right on my ass. My cheek stung from where he had hit me. Then, all I could do was blink as...

"Dincht! I always knew you were a faggot but...but not _that_ much of a faggot!"

Oh...

...my...

"What the FUCK is your problem?!"

I was gonna...

"And here I was, _worried_ about you!"

I sniffled. Oh, Hyne, I did not want him to see me cry...

"Are you even listening to me? You little fucking _queer_!"

But I couldn't consciously _grasp_ what had just happened. What was he saying? Had he...Had he _hit_ me? Not Seifer... Seifer wouldn't...

"What the _fuck_ is wrong now, Chickenwuss? Are you gonna cry?"

"Yes!" and then I did.


	4. Tell Me

[Author's Notes: Okies, a big big thank you goes out to everyone who's reviewed. In particular: rhapsodisiac, Bloodhazard, and revlis. This chapter's dedicated to you guys. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so much.

And again, I'm unhappy with this chapter, too. I'm not gonna point out what I don't like about it (because that'll just drawn your attention to it ), but I still would rather have waited until my beta reader had gone through this. She's been slacking off lately… (And that's _my_ job…) So…anyone wanna be a co-beta reader? C'mon, you know you want to… You get to read new chapters before anyone else… (No, that's not a bribe; where did you get that idea?) But seriously, if you're interested email me (rungrandmarunyahoo.com). And thank you. ::bows::

Oh, and on a side note: As of now, chapter five is halfway finished. So hopefully you won't have to wait too long for it. ]

…

**Succession of Witches**  
Chapter Four—Tell Me

…

What...What had just happened?

My body shook uncontrollably as I sobbed, hugging myself and staring down at the floor. The tile was blurred and bobbed up and down. This was why I _just didn't cry_. But I was crying now, wasn't I? I just couldn't seem to stop. My eyes felt swollen and hurt, dammit; and my sobs tore at my already raw throat. It sounded like I was hyperventilating, gasping for air. I had to calm myself down...

"Din—" Seifer cleared his throat, "Zell...?"

Don't even talk to me... You...You... I hiccoughed and wiped at my nose pathetically. Put simply, I was a mess. I had to stop crying. So, I bit my lip in an attempt to stifle the sobs. Soon, I had pierced that thin line of flesh and blood flooded my mouth. I had to swallow quickly to keep it from dribbling down my chin.

"Your...Your hair..."

Okay, that was it. "_What the fuck is wrong with my hair_?!" I nearly spit it at him, flipping up my head and fixing him with the meanest glare I could muster. Red-tinted spittle flew onto the floor.

Then...

Seifer squatted down in front of me, concentration crossing his features. I grit my teeth and growled at him, the effect being ruined by a hiccough moments after. Seifer was reaching for me, and instinctively I shied away; the tears blurring my vision so much that I didn't realize _what_ he was reaching for until he had wrapped his fingers around a lock of my hair. It was threaded with beads, I noticed. Seifer must not have gotten them out earlier.

He let the strand of beads drop, leaning back to look me over. What was his problem?

"Where's your jacket?" he asked, scowling. "Why is your hair different?"

Jacket? "What are you..." hiccough "...talking about?"

"Where did you go?" Seifer was staring at me intently, all the anger from earlier having disappeared completely.

"Where...did I go?" What...? Why...why was he asking me this? Why had he hit me? "You were there," I sobbed, "I was sucked into the source and then..." I had to stop to wipe my nose on the back of my hand. "I came out here... But...but how did you get here? Where...Where's Martine?"

"You're not Zell." Seifer stood, taking a few steps away from me.

"What do you mean, I'm not Zell?!" I cried, trying to get to my feet as well. "You're the one who just...just turned into a prick!" A homophobic prick, apparently. "You're supposed to be my Knight! Why...Why did you hit me?!"

Seifer looked as if someone had just slapped him in the face. I wish it had been me. "Your...Knight?"

"Yes, you jerk!" I had to wipe my nose again. At least I had stopped crying for the most part. "What did you do, _forget_?!"

Seifer's shocked expression quickly changed back into one of anger. "How could I forget something I _never was in the first place?!"_

Okay, that stung. "You...You bastard..." How could you say that to me after...after... I shook my head, blinking fresh tears from my eyes. "How could...could you..." How can you act so different? "What did I do to you?" My hands clenched into fists, unchecked magic crackled over my knuckles. My emotions were boiling up inside me; pushing against my skin and threatening to rend themselves from me by force. I was shaking; the force of my emotions, my anger, was shaking me. "What did I do to you," I hissed through grit teeth...I couldn't control it anymore...My anger, hurt, sorrow...Everything was feeding the Power that coiled like a snake inside of me. I was lifting my head, my eyes fixing on Seifer; he took a step back, confusion lacing his pretty features. "What did I do to you..." I repeated for the third time, my words coming out in a snarl, "..._to make you act this way_?!"

And then my Power burst free, winding over my body and making me go rigid; I gasped at the sheer force of it. The gold, electric-like wisps of my Power covered me, twisting and twisting and lifting my hands. My fingers stretched out, pointing at Seifer...

"Zell...?"

My Power gathered at my fingertips, growing and growing and I couldn't stop it... I didn't want to stop it...

Because he had hurt me...

"I thought I could trust you..." my voice wavered with my anger, my pain... And still the fire-gold bolts of Power charged over my body, propelling me forward...

I stepped...

Seifer was staring at me, wide-eyed and obviously confused. I didn't really want to hurt him, I didn't. But I couldn't control myself, I couldn't help it...

And then I noticed it.

There...

...right between Seifer's golden brows...

...was a scar. A scar he had never had before.

It took all of my strength to lower my hands; to concentrate enough to get my Power under control.

What...

What was going on?

###

What the hell was I doing? What was Seifer doing?

I broke away from his embrace, stumbling backwards and narrowly avoiding tripping over a stool. "Wha... Wha...?"

Why the fuck did Seifer look so hurt?

"Zell?" and he started approaching me.

"No!" I waved my arms frantically in front of me, trying to ward him off. "Stay away from me!" You psycho! What the fuck had _that_ been about? Seifer... Seifer I'm-An-Evil-Little-Prick Almasy had just kissed me.

And I had enjoyed it.

NO!!

Bad thoughts, bad thoughts... Please, Zelly, let's handle one thing at a time... Now is not when you should be _questioning your sexuality!!_

Instead...

Let's question Seifer's.

Oh yeah, I'm bad.

"What did you just _do_, Almasy?! Why did you do it?!" I thought you hated me...

Wait...

Oh, I get it. Damn, Seifer really is a prick.

"You're toying with me, aren't you? Think you can humiliate me even more, is that it? Playing _mind games_, Almasy?!"

The unscarred blonde stopped advancing, utter hurt and confusion taking the place of his usual arrogance. He opened his mouth to say something, but no way was I letting him get any wisecracks in.

"Well it's not working! I am unfazed!!" But I wasn't; by no stretch of the imagination.

Wait a minute... There was something...

Oh...

Wow...

Squinting to get a better look, I said, my voice suddenly lacking the pissy note it had held earlier, "Where'd your scar go?"

Seifer looked so completely confused that I almost felt bad for him. He had to try several times to speak, and when he finally managed it, all he was able to get out was a hoarse, "Huh?"

"Your scar!" I exclaimed, waving a pointed finger wildly. "On your forehead!"

"Wha...?" and Seifer actually brought up a hand to feel around his forehead. Did he not know it was missing? "My...my scar?"

"It's gone!" By Jove!

"But...?" Had I really confused him this much? Usually it was I that was in this state of mental dishevelment.

"It's gone," I repeated again, stepping forward and poking him right between the eyes, where his scar had been previously. "Gone," I said again, just to make sure he was getting the message.

Apparently, poking Seifer in the head was going just a bit too far. Frowning, the blonde grabbed my hand, pulling it back a bit and staring at it intently. I had to resist yanking my hand away; who knew how he'd take that.

"Gloves..." he whispered, more to himself than to me. "Where'd you get these?"

When it was apparent he wasn't going to let me go, I started tugging lightly, testing his grip. "From the weaponsmith in Garden, like everyone else. Hyne, Seifer, when'd you get so stupid?"

Seifer's frown deepened, and he finally looked up from my hand. Fixing me with an intense blue stare, he yanked me forward, and I collided with his chest. (Which was nice and firm, by the way. Wait, no!! Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad...) Then, he roughly grabbed my chin and forced my gaze upwards until I was staring into his eyes.

"_When_ did you get them?" he asked, in an eerily calm voice.

I was suddenly very fucking afraid.

"When I started my training...same as everyone else..." Sensing that wasn't enough to satisfy him, I added, "Right after I passed the test to be a SeeD candidate."

We stood, staring silently at each other, until Seifer exhaled sharply, his minty fresh breath blowing into my face. "Zell, you were never a SeeD candidate."

Never a SeeD... Wha...? "Of course I was! We took our exam together, remember? You were our goddamn Squad Leader, for Hyne's sake!"

"Zell," Seifer said patiently, as if explaining to a little child, "I was never a candidate either. I started training to become a Knight as soon as I arrived at Garden."

"Knight?" That's what whiny-hysterical-guy had mentioned more than a few times...

"Yes, Zell. I trained to become a Sorceress' Knight."

Oh, this was just too good... "YOU'RE IN LEAGUE WITH HER?!"

"Who, Zell?! I'm _your_ Knight!"

Oh... Oh, Hyne... I think it's finally happened... My brain's stopped...

###

I felt the Power recede inside of me, coiling back into its familiar position. "What...?" I stammered, feeling my whole body sag with exhaustion. (Fighting the Power of a god'll do that to ya.) "What's going on?" I was looking to Seifer for answers, but all he could do was gape at me. I stumbled forward, and this time, he didn't back away. "I'm not...This isn't Galbadia, is it?" 

"Gal...Galbadia?" Seifer looked just as confused, as tired, as I did. "Fuck no, Zell. We're in Timber." Then, seeming to reconsider something, he added, "Don't you... Don't you remember?"

Timber? I shook my head. "No...We weren't in Timber. We were in Galbadia; me, you, and Martine, and you had found the source for me and I...I was sucked in..."

"Zell," Seifer said stonily, "I've never been to Galbadia."

"But..." I searched his face; he didn't seem to be lying.

"I don't know who Martine is..."

This...can't be happening...

"And I haven't a clue what a...a 'source' is."

"A Sorceress portal," I told him simply, sinking to the floor, "as it turns out." I hugged my knees to my chest and rested my forehead on top of them. "Why am I in Timber?" I asked myself silently, desperately fighting not to cry again.

"You were here on a mission," Seifer answered me, softly. I hadn't been expecting an answer. "You, Squall, and Tilmitt, I think that's her name. You three were sent here to help...liberate Timber..."

I looked up at Seifer, regarding him slowly, "But I don't know who they are."

Seifer just stared at me, thinking to himself, for a few moments. Finally, he spoke: "What..." he cleared his throat, and I noticed his cheeks were tinged the slightest shade of pink, "Why did you hug me?"

That...wasn't the question I'd been expecting. I found I couldn't answer him right away. What was I supposed to say to _that_? 'Well, up until a few minutes ago, I was madly in love with you.' I don't think so. Finally, I settled on, "I was just happy to see you. I...didn't think you'd hit me."

And, score one for me, Seifer actually looked guilty. "Happy to see me? Zell, you... You hate me."

"No I don't," I replied automatically.

"Yeah, ya do."

I frowned. "No, Seifer, I don't hate you. I'm not exactly too fond of you at the moment, but I've never _hated_ you."

Seifer looked positively dumbstruck.

"How could you think that?" I whispered. "After everything I told you...After...you kissed me..." I trailed off, knowing that I was blushing but fully unable to do anything about it.

"I _kissed_ you?! When?!" Seifer had this incredibly cute,_ scandalized_ expression on his face.

"The first time was when--"

"I kissed you more than once?!" Yup, scandalicious. (Oh, Hyne, all this crossdressing _is_ turning me into a woman...)

"Yes, twice," and I held up two fingers to show him.

"Why don't _I_ remember_ that_?!"

I shrugged; I was beginning to develop a theory because, if I didn't do _something_ I was going to go insane. "I imagine it's the same reason I don't remember my supposed teammates."

Seifer did a wonderfully precise impression of a fish while I collected my thoughts. Somehow, _somehow_, the Sorceress portal I had traveled through had led me (and this was stretching things a bit) to a world/time period in which Seifer and I knew each other, but under different circumstances.

I knew I read sci-fi novels for a reason.

"So...So..." Seifer scrunched up his face, "Did we both just get selective amnesia?"

Oh, that was a good theory too, and more plausible than mine, but... "I don't think so...I wouldn't just forget people, or that you had a scar..."

"I've always had a scar..."

"No you haven't."

Seifer opened his mouth to say something, but settled with a grunt. "Well, do you have any better ideas?"

"Not better, but I do have ideas," and I gave him my most charming grin and sat down to begin explaining.


	5. Silence and Motion

[Author's notes: Hee...I had such fun with the horizontal rule in this chapter. I finally retired the triple #. Hopefully things will be both easier to read and prettier. Also, I'm hoping the closet scene will make up for the angst in the previous two chapters. It gives new meaning to coming out of the closet. Har har har. I hate puns...

But seriously, this chapter begins right where 4 ended, with canon Zell and AU Seifer. (Had much fun writing this part, by the way.) Chapter six'll be out soon, too, so be on the lookout for it.]

[PS: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Your comments really help to get these chapters out faster. (This is incentive to review, people. I'm not below bribing.) Special thanks goes out to Suke-san, who left so many nice reviews on my various works. (You fed my starving ego! Thank you!) This chapter is dedicated to you. Enjoy. ]

* * *

**Succession of Witches**   
Chapter Five—Silence and Motion

* * *

It had finally happened… My brain had stopped. Every single thought that had been whizzing through my head slammed up against my skull. Then…there _was no thought… _Everything was as silent as a mime in a hospital for the mute. I was so dumbstruck that I couldn't even blink. Seifer must have thought I had gone into a coma.

"Zell…? Are you okay?"

But there was nobody home; Zelly had left the building.

"Zell!"

Can you hear the sound of crickets? I can. Chirrup chirrup…

"Zell, dammit!" and then Seifer had me by the shoulders and was shaking me. My head snapped back, then forth again, before I came back to my senses.

"Ow! Stoppit!" and I squirmed away from him, falling, ever so gracefully, on my ass. "What did you do that for?" I demanded, crossing my arms but refusing to get up off the floor.

"You had zoned out," Seifer growled.

I glared at him; he glared at me.

Then…

"You're my _Knight?!_" I punched the floor, more out of complete frustration that anything. "How? What? _Why?_"

"Every Sorceress has a Knight."

Oh…

_Oh_… 

Okay, brain hurting…Eye twitching…

"What are you getting at?" I demanded, knowing, _full well_, what Seifer had meant. But sometimes, I have to hear things _straight from the source_ before I believe them.

"You used to be a Sorceress; but I'm not so sure anymore…"

I'll be the first to admit, I'm a selective listener. What I heard from that had been, "You: Sorceress." But those two words were enough to send me into mental overload. _Once again_.

"Wha, wha, wha, wha…" Oh great, I had lost the ability to speak. "Wha, wha, wha…" Look at me! The Amazing Mono-Syllabic Boy! Woo!

"Zell, you have to tell me, what happened after the source dragged you in?"

"Wha…?" Translation: I don't know what you're talking about. I am not a Sorceress, you are not my Knight, and I still don't know why you _fucking kissed me_!

"Zell!" and Seifer was shaking me again. I really wished he'd quit that.

"I don't know!" YES!! I got my voice back! There's to be no life in a freak show for me! Whoop-di-shit. "I have no idea what's going on, Seifer, but I am certain of two things: One," and I held up a finger to illustrate, "a lot of fucked up shit is going down, and two," I added another finger, "I'm not a Sorceress." There was a three, but it involved lots more cursing and the questioning of my, and potentially Seifer's, sanity.

"Alright," Seifer said, sighing, "I'll agree with you for now; that seems to be the only way of getting anywhere. But you have to cooperate with me too, okay?"

The fact that Seifer was being so…well…not mean, was the only reason I agreed, slowly nodding my head.

"Good," and Seifer extended his hand. To me.

Wary, I took it, and he pulled me to my feet. Huh. No tricks, no snide comments… Surely, this wasn't _really_ Seifer…

"Follow me. I think it would be better if we went somewhere private. All we need is for Martine to suspect something." And then, still holding my hand, he led me from the room. I didn't even have time to protest, I was so caught up in gawking at my hand in his.

I had the most warm, tingly feeling. I would have enjoyed it had I not been so freaked out.

* * *

"So what you're saying is, basically, because of the Sorceress, our times have gotten screwed up?" Seifer had, until recently, been pacing the room, now he had stopped a little over to my left and was watching me curiously.

"Something like that…" I shrugged. "Or we could both just be crazy."

Seifer chose to ignore that last bit. "So how are we going to go about fixing things? As soon as Squall and Quistis find out about this, I'm going to get blamed, and you'll be marked a raving lunatic and locked up in a nice, padded room."

"But you believe me?" I was probably only bringing on more screaming fits, but I really had to know. It…bothered me that Seifer might think of me as insane. Even if this wasn't _my_ Seifer, it was still Seifer. I didn't want him mad at me.

Oh yeah, I'm a sap.

Seifer sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I believe you. This is entirely too fucked up for me _not to_."

Well, I suppose that was better than nothing.

"But," Seifer punctuated his conjunction with a pointed finger, "we still need to figure out what to do."

"Yeah," I smiled up at him apologetically, "but I'm all out of ideas."

Seifer snorted, "That figures. I guess you _are_ Zell after all."

"How nice of you to notice." I glared up at the taller man.

Seifer shrugged. "So it's up to me then?"

Somehow that wasn't reassuring. "This is your time," I said, "We've already established I don't know a thing about it."

"Right, right," Seifer had started pacing again.

When it didn't look like he was going to further our conversation, I looked away from him, examining the room we were in. Seifer had told me it was a back room in the TV station in Timber. It looked the part, I guess, what with the wires and cables lying about. My eyes caught on the cloth-draped wall I had entered through. It looked just as harmless as any other wall; every trace of Sorceress magic had disappeared during my conversation with Seifer. I wondered if translocating would be worth the risk.

Let's weight my options, shall we?

On one hand, there's confusion and an asshole imitation of the man I used to consider my best friend, hell, my only friend. And on the other: freedom or possible death. Hmm… Choices, choices…

"Fuck."

I looked up at the noise. Seifer had stopped, a look of annoyance crossing his features.

"What?" I asked, starting to stand.

Seifer only motioned for me to stay put. "Listen," he hissed, and I did so.

Voices drifted, muffled, into the room.

"Selphie…there already…"

"I don't…find him…"

I remained frozen, waiting for Seifer to tell me what to do; this _was_ his world, after all.

He motioned for me to come over to him, and I rose, slowly, and crept over the floor. When I was within reach, he grabbed a handful of my shirt and yanked me closer to him. He leaned down, whispering into my ear. "That's Tilmitt and Quistis, and Squall's probably with them. If they find you now, everything's over. None of them were there to see y—the Chickenwuss—fall through that damned wall."

I nodded, barely able to refrain from squirming away from him, or snuggling close. (I couldn't decide whether or not I liked the way his breath was tickling my ear.)

"But you'll have to face them some time; you can't go missing forever," and he was dragging us both to the far side of the room, "Knowing Trepe, she won't just let you disappear."

And I didn't know Trepe, so I had to take Seifer's word for it.

Seifer stopped, scanning the back of the room, until he spotted something that would serve as a hiding place: A simple, aluminum closet, most likely used to store camera equipment.

The voices were a lot clearer now; they were getting closer. Seifer released his grip on me to open the closet door; thankfully, it opened silently. Then he grabbed my shoulder and stuffed me in the closet, like any normal person would a pair of shoes. Just as I was about to protest, sliding a few dangling cords out of my way, Seifer pressed himself up against me, somehow managing to close the door behind him.

There was hardly any room to move in the confined space; I had cold metal up against my rump, and warm Seifer melded to my front. "Don't say a word," Seifer growled through grit teeth, his eyes twin sparks of blue blazing into mine.

I turned my head to the side, pressing my suddenly burning cheek against the chill of the closet wall. Thank Hyne he couldn't see my blush.

Meanwhile…

A trio of footsteps stopped as they entered the room.

"See, Selphie, he's not here."

Someone, I presumed Selphie, walked deeper into the room. "Zell!" she called, her voice wavering with worry. "Zell!"

"Selphie, shush! We've looked all over and neither Zell nor Seifer is here."

"I know he's here somewhere!" Selphie sounded as if she was about to cry. I felt a sudden, inexplicable sadness overtake me. I could put an end to her worry… All I had to do was cry out…

"He's not!" the yell silenced everyone in the room; my plans of revealing myself dying as soon as I heard that tone of finality. "He's not," the second woman—Quistis? Trepe?—said in a softer tone. "Zell's not here, Selphie."

When Selphie spoke again, her voice was far too quiet, too tired, "I'm not leaving until we find him."

"I know how you feel, but staying here any longer would be foolish. We've got to get to Galbadia Garden. We'll leave word with Zone and Watts so Zell can find us again."

"But…But what if they've already captured him? What if he and Seifer are in prison? Won't they execute them for holding Deling captive?"

Quistis sighed. "I don't know, Selphie, but we'll only endanger ourselves if we stay here."

Finally sensing that she was fighting a losing battle, Selphie turned to the other, silent, occupant for help. "Squall…?"

"The train's leaving soon," and then the owner of that eerily dead-sounding voice was walking out of the room.

"Please, Selphie, you have to understand we have no other choice but to leave."

Then there was silence.

Stuck in a little metal box, pressed right up against a very attractive man, I couldn't help but will the two women away. Selphie's sentiment was touching, but if she didn't scoot, _pronto_, I was going to have far bigger problems. The most prominent being how much I was enjoying Seifer's body against mine. It was nice, dammit, I don't care if he had hit me.

Thankfully, my prayers were answered.

"Alright," Selphie whispered, so quietly I almost missed it. And then Quistis and Selphie were gone.

But…

Seifer wasn't moving.

I had to will myself to turn my head and look up at his face. In the dark of the closet, I couldn't see his expression, just a light shine of his eyes. "Seifer?" I whispered, desperately trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible. The only thing I wanted to do right at that moment was rub up against the taller man. But I was sure he wouldn't take that too well. Damn homophobes.

Mere seconds after I had uttered his name, Seifer jerked, as if he had woken suddenly, and started fumbling behind him for the door.

Wouldn't it just be the damnedest thing if we were locked in here? I'm sure my miscreant body would get a kick out of it.

But then Seifer found the latch, and we both tumbled out of the closet. Seifer regained his balance almost immediately, but I, being the klutz that I am, somehow got tangled in a loose cable hanging out of the closet. The damned thing wrapped around my ankle, causing me to trip and stumble right back up against Seifer. Thankfully, he was too stunned to do anything but catch me. But even that didn't last long.

"Damn, Chicken, forget how to walk?" as I tried to struggle out of the cable's vine-like grip on my leg.

"Fuck off," I hissed, kicking meanly at the cable once I was free of it. As soon as that was taken care of… "A closet?! You stuff us in a fucking _closet_?!"

"I thought you would have _liked_ such close quarters," Seifer retorted, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Not with _you_," and I pushed past him, storming away. Amazing that just moments ago I would have liked nothing better than for him to touch me.

Then he did touch me. The little bastard grabbed ahold of my arm and yanked me back. I whipped my head around, glaring at him. "_What?_"

"Where do you think you're going?"

I struggled against his grip on my arm, hating the smirk he was flashing at me. "What do you care? I can go anywhere I fucking want to!" I snapped, twisting my arm as much as I could without snapping it. Why did Seifer have to be such an ass? _My _Seifer wasn't like this; not to me anyway. Maybe he really was an ass, and I just never noticed it because he was actually nice to me.

Hyne, I missed him.

"What do _I_ care?" Seifer swung me around, grabbing me by the shoulders and giving me a single rough shake. "I can't just let you run blindly into the middle of something you don't understand!"

"And why the hell not? As far as I can tell, you wouldn't have given a fuck if the other me had fallen off the edge of the earth. Why should you feel any different towards me? Are you just worried I'll say something that'll get you in trouble? Well, _guess what_, I have no intention of running to Squall or whoever. I just wanna go home, _okay?!" _I hadn't been this angry in…well…ever. I was doing all I could just to keep back a surge of angry tears. "Is that okay with you, _Seifer_?!" And I tried jerking away again.

I was sick of this; all of it. I kept seeing him as someone he wasn't, as someone I wanted him to be. This Seifer wasn't my Knight, he wasn't my friend. He was an arrogant, sarcastic asshole. My feelings were just getting all mixed up; that's all. I kept seeing him as _my_ Seifer. That's why I hated it so much that I was fighting with him. Really.

Seifer opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, thought better of it, and released me. I stumbled away, rubbing at where he had grabbed me. I wouldn't have been surprised if the bastard had left a bruise.

"If you wanna go, then go," he said, sighing and running gloved fingers through his hair.

But I didn't want to. As pissed as I was at him, he was the only person who understood the situation; who could possibly believe my half-assed theory. I swallowed nervously, trying to bite back on my anger. I couldn't let him get to me so easily. I just had to keep calm and ignore his barbs.

"I don't…" I took a deep breath and tried again. "I don't know where _to_ go." I had been looking down at my feet since he had let me go; I was afraid that if I caught him smirking again, I'd lose my temper. But when he didn't say anything, I chanced a look up. He was regarding me coolly, with a purely calculating look on his face. If he had had a goatee, he'd have been stroking it. I would have given just about anything to know what he was thinking.

"I think…" he said at last, tapping his bottom lip with a single gloved finger. It was amazing how distracting I found that single movement. "…it would be best if we got you to Galbadia."

"Why Galbadia?" I wasn't getting his logic.

"Your—Dincht's—friends are there. Heading there. I don't know what else to do with you."

_What else to do with me_? What did he think he was? My babysitter? My sentiments must have shown on my face because Seifer immediately went on speaking, not giving me even a second to interrupt.

"I'm going after the Sorceress; I have unfinished business with her anyway," Seifer had started pacing again; every now and then he'd glance at me out of the corners of his eyes. "If I find out anything; how to get you home, whatever, I'll send word. Alright?" And he stopped, crossing his arms and tilting his head _just slightly_ before looking me over once, twice, and then nodding sharply. He was easy to read: he'd just settled everything, in his mind anyway.

"But what do you want me to do in Galbadia? Twiddle my thumbs? Take up sewing? I'd rather go with you. Besides, I'd have an easier time dealing with the Sorceress than you would."

"What makes you think that?" Seifer said, his eyes narrowing. I could tell he was trying his damnedest not to make some snide comment. His effort was almost touching.

I didn't know how he'd take this… Oh well, better spring it on him with a bit of nonchalance. "I'm a Sorceress, too. She'd be more inclined to speak with me." As I said this I shrugged, being as insouciant as possible.

"You're _what_?" Seifer snapped. He sounded more confused than anything. Poor dear… Tch.

"I _told_ you you were my Knight. Or…not _you_, per se, but you know what I mean…"

Seifer gaped at me, his mouth hanging open as he blinked, uncomprehending. But then, almost instantaneously, his expression shifted, and he was back to being calculating, detached. "Whatever…You're not Zell…I mean… _Whatever!_ The point is, you have to take his place, just for a little while."

I couldn't help it. I tried, honest, but I just couldn't. "Why?"

"Because the last thing I need is to get blamed for this shit!" Seifer exclaimed. He was angry, but his anger seemed to be more general, instead of directed at me. Whew. All I needed was to piss him off and get abandoned in… Where had he said we were? Timber? Hyne, Timber…

"But it's not even your fault," I protested, for seemingly no reason at all. I think I protested just for the sake of protesting. Besides, it seemed awful stupid that Seifer would get blamed by default, just because he had been here. Hadn't these people heard of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Sheesh. No wonder he was so pissy.

"Yeah, like they give a fuck." And he was back to smirking. (Maybe it was a defense mechanism... But fuck, I wished Seifer would've chosen something less annoying to protect his fragile emotions with.)

I sighed. So he wanted me to go to Galbadia? Maybe he just didn't want me tagging along with him after the Sorceress. Fuck that, I could go with him if I wanted to. It's not like he could really stop me. As I had just informed him, I _was_ a Sorceress. You know, endowed with the powers of a god and all that shit.

But then, quite unwillingly, I assure you, I thought of Selphie, of how her voice had quivered when she gave in and left. I had no way of knowing what this other Zell had been to her, but I couldn't just do _nothing_ when I could ease her worry. I wouldn't pretend for her, for anyone, but I could let them know what had happened to their friend; it was the least I could do. Aside from getting over my damned fear and translocating, finding their Zell, and carting him back. Of course, there was always the chance of us both _dying_ in the process… Fuck. This wasn't helping.

"Alright," I gave in, already hating myself for it, "I'll go to Galbadia." I just hoped Seifer would actually keep his word and try to find me a way home.

Seifer blinked at me, an expression on his face that read too clearly, "You mean it's that easy?"

"Good," he said at last, a light trace of disbelief still flicking across his features. "You can find those people Trepe mentioned, Zone and Watts, I think their names were. Hell, I'll even go with you," and he strode forward to the room's entrance, turning around and tapping his foot impatiently when I didn't immediately follow him.

"How…noble of you," I muttered, falling into step beside him as we trekked down hallway after hallway.

Seifer grinned. "_I_ thought so."

I snorted, pocketing my hands, and watched the tile floor recede behind us. I wasn't going to let myself be drawn into an argument. Even though he was a complete ass, at least he was finally being helpful.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, Seifer finally ventured into conversation. "Soo…You're a Sorceress, eh?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. I glanced back over my shoulder; I could have sworn I'd heard something… Maybe the television crew.

"And the other me was your Knight?"

"Uhm-hmm…"

"How the hell did that happen?"

"You don't know how many times I've asked myself that question." There it was again! It sounded like…muffled voices… Were Selphie and the other two still here?

"That's pretty damn ironic," Seifer continued. Apparently, he didn't hear anything, or if he did, he didn't think anything of it. "Because…Hell, I don't know why I'm telling you this…but… I've always wanted to be a Sorceress' Knight."

I was only half-listening to him. I was still trying to catch that noise again; to figure out what it was.

"You know, I'd always read about Hyne and shit in books and I always wondered what it'd be like to be her Knight. I mean, she was almost like a god, right? Fuck, _we_ refer to her as a god. And you have that power, right? That's what happens, isn't it? A new Sorceress inherits the old one's powers?"

"Yeah. Most people don't know that. The public has always seemed to think that Sorceresses are born with their powers. Only Hyne was, that I know of. I inherited mine." The noise hadn't repeated itself; I guess my worry had been for nothing.

"And Knights," Seifer continued, seeming genuinely interested in the subject, "How does that work? How did I—you know what I mean—become your Knight?"

"Usually Sorceresses get to choose their own Knights. You know, it's normally someone important to them; who would protect them at a moment's notice anyway. But in my case, I had my Knight picked for me. Dr. Odine—he's an expert on Sorceresses—chose. I didn't learn until later that they picked you because you had had better credentials than any of the other Knight candidates."

"So they…were training Knights?"

"Yeah. They had this whole over-funded program at Garden for it."

"Damn," Seifer scratched his head, looking at me sideways as we continued walking. "It sounds like I signed up at the wrong Garden."

I chanced a look over at him, grinning. "I guess so."

"Alright, SeeD, stop right there," the speaker gestured at us with his rifle, stepping right in the center of our path. From behind us came the distinct sound of two rifles being cocked. So I guess it hadn't just been a television crew…

"SeeD?" Seifer sneered, his blue eyes flashing. "I'm afraid you're mistaken..."


	6. Starting Up

[Author's Notes: Hello, hello. Chapter six is here, complete with all my usual warnings. Watch out for stuff. This chap begins with AU-Zell and picks up right where 5 stopped. But don't worry obi, this is a mostly Canon-Zell/AU-Seifer chapter. I've been focusing on the other two so much that I thought these two needed to be in the spotlight again. And Bloodhazard, sorry for the lack of...ehh...romance in the last chapter. I'm trying to keep Canon-Seifer as in character as I can...Though there is some _major_ OOC-ness you can look forward to next chapter. I have the first scene typed and it is nothing but angst and sap: Angsty sap.

And one more thing... Suke-san mentioned something that I've been thinking over myself...and that is the pairings. You're pretty much guaranteed to get Seifer/Zell, I just haven't decided which Seifer and which Zell yet, lol. It really changes with each chapter; I have my mind set on the pairings and then I write something that changes my mind. Oi. But if you guys have any preference for pairings, let me know in your reviews (maybe with a reason _why_ you like that pairing...) I'm not saying this'll effect the story, I'm just curious. Ack...But this is too long already... Just enjoy the chapter...]

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**Succession of Witches**   
Chapter Six—Starting Up

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"SeeD?" Seifer sneered, his blue eyes flashing. "I'm afraid you're mistaken..."

The guard (or very pissed off TV crewman) didn't seem to care. "Hands up," he commanded, brandishing his rifle. Yes, Mr. Man, I know you have a very dangerous weapon; I'd appreciate it if you didn't _wave_ it at me. Sheesh. Some people…

As it turned out, it wasn't just me that brought out the ass in Seifer; other people had that effect on him too. "SeeD?" he was practically sniggering, "I don't see any SeeDs anywhere. Are you referring to Zell here?" and he gestured at me, "Because I hate to break it to you folks, but _he's_ not a SeeD."

"Hands up!" the guard repeated. The corner of his mouth was twitching. That couldn't be good…

"And _I'm_ certainly no SeeD. Can you believe that, Zell?" Seifer had turned to me, determined to show just how shocked he was at being mistakenly classified. Tch. "I mean, really, _me_!" and he said this with the most effeminate, surprised voice he could muster.

"Alright, buddy, we've no time for this," and one of the guards behind us prodded Seifer in the back with his rifle. Okaaay…That was a bad move…

"Well…If you _insist_," Seifer said. Oh, I did not like that tone of voice at all. It implied pain and many more wiseass comments. "I guess we can play SeeD for you," and before any of us could even blink, Seifer had drawn his gunblade and had it pressed right up against the neck of the guard in front of us. The poor guy stood there, his eyes and mouth wide. His bottom lip trembled pathetically as Seifer followed his Adam's apple with the edge of his blade. A manic gleam had lit up his ice-blue eyes and he licked his lips. Hyne, he looked like a starving wolf. I was just waiting for him to growl…

"Let him go! Now!" ordered Nameless Guard #2 from behind us.

I turned around slowly. The two remaining guards stood and quivered, the muzzles of their guns wavering at us. Now, I wasn't the best Sorceress to ever grace the earth, but I could more than handle these goons. I waggled my fingers at my sides, eagerly awaiting the rush of Power that was fast approaching. "I'm only going to warn you once," I said clearly, making sure the two men had heard me, "Put your guns down."

Seifer snorted next to me, his attention still on the poor guard at the edge of his blade. "Gotta play the hero, eh, Zell? I shouldn't have expected anything else."

Thankfully, the guards in front of me were still aiming at me, or I would have been tempted to zap Seifer with a nice Thundaga. Oh well, I had given them their chance. "Your loss," I told them, smiling grimly at their twin looks of shock as golden energy began to coil around my body. The little snakes of Power slithered their way to my fingertips, where they gathered and sparked. I began to lift my hands, spreading out my fingers till a web of sizzling energy was tracing back and forth over the digits.

When I had first gotten my Powers, I had loved to sit and play like this, watching the patterns I could make with the golden energy. The guards seemed to appreciate this as well; they watched the movements of the crackling wisps across my fingers, almost with a deer-in-the-headlights blankness. It was only too easy to set the Power on them.

Twin golden streams smacked the two guards right in the chest, knocking them backwards. They slid across the smooth tile floor, their guns clattering harmlessly to the ground beside them. Behind me, I could make out a thud as Seifer's guard fell to the ground. I turned, finding that the man was still alive, just scared beyond belief. His gaze kept flicking from Seifer to me and then back again; the poor bastard couldn't decide who he was more afraid of. Seifer eventually solved that problem for him by smacking him on the head with the flat side of his blade. The man collapsed into an ungainly heap on the floor.

Seifer prodded the unconscious guard with the toe of his boot before turning to me, a lopsided grin plastered on his face. He had just opened his mouth to say something when reinforcements arrived, once again mistaking us for Garden's mercenaries.

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"Here. Sit," and Seifer directed me to a very poofy armchair he had pulled out of a corner. I obeyed, too stunned really to do anything else. I immediately sank right down into the chair. It was so comfortable I really couldn't help but toe off my shoes and bring my legs up. I wrapped my arms around them and rested my chin on my knees, watching Seifer as he paced in front of me. He had brought up a single gloved finger and was stroking his bottom lip. His brows were furrowed in thought.

"Alright," he said at last, finally ceasing his pacing and sitting down on the bed across from me. "You agreed to cooperate, right?"

I nodded, warily.

"I'm just gonna ask you some questions, okay?"

"Okay…" I narrowed my eyes. Why was he being so nice? Where had his scar gone? Why did he insist I was the Sorceress? As soon as he was done, it was gonna be my turn to ask questions.

Seifer exhaled, rubbing tiredly at his eyes before speaking. "I want you to relate to me everything you've done since you got up this morning."

Huh. That didn't sound too hard. Alrighty then… "We had a mission," I told him, "Me, Selphie, and Squall. We were hired by this chick Rinoa to help her execute a bunch of half-assed plans. She wanted us to storm the TV station, take over, and declare Timber's independence. Only problem was, President Deling got in front of the cameras first. The whole thing had been set up to announce the Sorceress as some sort of ambassador," here I went off on a tangent, "Now, I don't buy that shit at all. Ambassador? Of what? She's just gonna help him take over more cities. I mean—"

"What happened after that?" Seifer interrupted. He obviously didn't give a damn about my theories of corruption in the government. Fine then. His loss.

"_Any_way, after that Squall got pissed at Rinoa for being stupid and she ran off. (Good riddance, I say.) And Selphie came back and then Quistis came on air and was like, 'Yeah, we're knee-deep in shit, come dig us out,' and so we burst into the station and, lo and behold, you're there being all, 'I'm an idiot with too much testosterone who's gonna screw everything up by holding the president hostage.' So…uh…yeah. Then I opened my mouth and blew our cover and endangered Garden and then you were like, 'Way ta go, Chickenwuss. I'm a prick, watch me run off with the president while you guys clean up after me.' So then I was pissed, because, like you said, you're a prick, so I ran after you and when I finally found you the president was gone and you were talking to this chick. So I charged you, because, you know, you're a prick, but I missed (How the fuck did I miss? You're twice as big as I am?) and ended up flying at this woman, but she disappeared through wall and then I fell through after her, and you were all like, 'Zell, come back! I want to torment you some more! I'm a prick!' and I was like, all falling and shit. So then I realized the chick was the Sorceress and I was like, 'Damn, this is bad,' but I was still falling, and then I finally came to the end of the little wall-vortex-thing. Then some guy came and latched onto me and was all like, 'Whine, whine, I'm a wiener, follow me, something about Cid… Seifer's a prick, he's gone crazy and shit…' And so I let him drag me through this damn place until he threw me in with you. And that's everything."

Seifer had sat on the end of the bed, watching me silently until I had finished. When he finally spoke, all he said was, "I take it you don't like me very much." And I could have sworn he had a spark of humor dancing in his eyes.

I just snorted. "Is that all you're gonna ask me? I have some questions myself, y'know."

Seifer shook his head. "No, there's more." Goody. "You mentioned the Sorceress and the…president? Deling, right? Do you happen to know the Sorceress' name?"

"No," I sniffed, rubbing at my nose; it had started itching. "I don't remember if they said it on-air or not."

Seifer sighed. "Alright. Then…how do you know me?"

Okay…Why was I getting the feeling Seifer thought I was someone else? "From Garden. You were always picking on me; you know, just being a prick"

"Balamb?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright. Your turn. What do you want to ask me?"

"How do _you_ know _me_?"

Seifer grinned wryly, revealing a nice set of sparkling white teeth. Mmm…Shiny… "I always saw you around at Garden. From the first moment I arrived, I knew who you were: Zell, the heir to the Sorceress' powers. I even went into training to serve you. After you inherited the old Sorceress' powers, I became your Knight. Since then, I have rarely left your side."

Whoa… Yeah… Something was fucked up on, like, a Behemoth-sized scale.

"What…" I shook my head, starting over, "You're not kidding, are you?"

"No. And I don't believe you are either."

"Fuck, no."

"Then what do you think has happened?"

I don't know… "I'm dreaming?" I ventured timidly.

Seifer shook his head. He was looking off to the side, chewing his bottom lip in thought. Maybe it had been a rhetorical question… "It had something to do with the source…with the portal you fell through…" he sounded more like he was just thinking aloud, than anything, but his remark got my wheels turning…

Sure… Of course it had something to do with the portal. I had always knew it was the Sorceress' fault. She was, like, all-powerful and shit; of course she could send me into some trippy dimension if she wanted. But… Then what had happened to the other Zell? The one that Seifer had thought he was kissing? Seifer had mentioned something… A source…thing…

"Seifer," he was close enough for me to stretch out a leg and prod him with a socked foot. He turned to me, an expectant look on his face. "What's a source? That…thing you mentioned…"

"A source… I guess… It's probably the same as what you fell through: a Sorceress portal."

"And did…Uhm…The other me fall through that?"

Seifer nodded, his eyes narrowing as he realized I was onto something.

"Then your Zell is probably in my world. So, I guess this means all we have to do is find that source-thingy. I'll go through it, find your Zell, and stuff him back through my portal. See? That makes sense, don't it?"

"Yes… That should…actually work." Seifer sprung to his feet, "C'mon," he said, grabbing my shoulder and lifting me up.

"Wait…wait a tick! I've gotta," and I was hopping around on one foot, trying to get my red high-top back on, "put my shoes on!"

... ... ...

Walking just a few steps behind Seifer, my eyes on the floor, my thoughts whirled in drunken patterns. I wasn't too concerned about the source. It had been settled in my mind that I was going home, and I wouldn't even dwell on the fact that my little half-assed plan might fail (Rinoa was rubbing off on me, dammit.) Instead, I thought about something that had already occurred to me: Seifer had kissed me because he had thought I was someone else. Well, not really someone else, but…whatever. The point was, sentiments like that usually are usually based on strong feelings. The only strong feeling I had ever had for anyone was my hatred (or very very strong dislike) for the other-Seifer. I had never even really thought of kissing anyone like that before, male or female.

I mean, there had been this girl, a transfer student, who had come to Garden for a semester when I was thirteen. She had really long, curly red hair and freckles, and had thought I was _dreadfully_ funny. I had trailed after her like a lost puppy, jumping at her every whim. I remembered how one time I had worked up the courage to hold her hand and for weeks after that I thought that was the most _wonderful_ feeling in the world. I could still remember how small her hand was in mine, how smooth. She had painted her fingernails a light blue color to match her skirt. I remembered worrying that she'd think my hand was too sweaty, too dirty. She had just looked up at me and smiled, swinging our hands between us.

Now, I couldn't even remember her name.

But still, that little crush hadn't even been enough to stir up any really _deep_ emotions in me. But Seifer, this Seifer, must have felt _something_ for the other Zell. And that…that confused me. I mean, I would never have even imagined that there could be anything but hate between us. But these two…

Hyne, this Seifer had said himself that he had rarely left the other Zell's side. What would that have been like? If I had just let him kiss me, and not jerked away, would he have… Would he have leaned down and whispered in my ear; whispered the only feeling that I could think of that would beget such an action? If he had kept on thinking I was the other Zell… What would… What would have happened next?

Why was I thinking this?

I shook my head to rid myself of the thoughts. We were probably almost there, anyway; what good would if have done me had I answered that question? I'd never see this Seifer again anyway. I'd go home, right back into the arms of the one person who hated me the most in the entire world. Fuck.

"It's right in here," Seifer whispered, stopping in front of a doorway I only vaguely recognized. He pressed a single gloved hand to the small of my back, steering me into the room. Even after he had closed the door and led me to the chamber's center, he still didn't immediately remove his hand. His middle and index fingers were rubbing my back through my jacket. I swallowed nervously, looking up at him.

Seifer seemed, once again, lost in thought. He was scouring the room, his eyes moving quick as lightning from corner to corner. I started to move away from his touch, opening my mouth to protest, but then that damned question came back to haunt me. _What would have happened next?_ If I just let him keep stroking my back, what would happen next? Did I want that much to find out? Was it even that much a matter of want? I _needed_ to find out what would happen next.

So I didn't move. I stood there, stupidly forgetting why we had come to this room in the first place. That didn't matter so much anymore. All I cared about was concentrating on the little circular movements of Seifer's fingers.

"It's not here." It took me nearly a full minute to register that, and by that time, Seifer had removed his hand was striding even farther into the room, kicking at the floor in various places. "The damn thing isn't here," he hissed angrily.

Okay, this wasn't supposed to happen. My plan had been foolproof. The damn portal wasn't supposed to _disappear._

"Not here?" Was that my voice? Since when had my voice trembled like that? Sounded that pathetic? "But… I just…"

"Goddammit!" Seifer cursed. His voice echoed angrily through the empty room. "_God_dammit!"

"What do we do now?" I asked, following Seifer with my eyes. He had started pacing the room, each pivot accompanied by an obscenity.

"We have to find Edea, we have to let her…" he trailed off, stopping mid-step. "No," he said suddenly, "No one can know what happened. If we told Edea, Cid would find out, and then Martine… _Shit_."

"What…what would happen if Martine found out?"

"The whole goddamn country would panic. I'd get thrown into jail for letting Zell get lost, and you'd be handed over to Odine to be used as a fucking science experiment. The whole fucking lot of them would probably think it was _better_ the Sorceress was gone. No chance of a _fucking_ uprising then. When there's no one to threaten your authority, you're better off." He was ranting. His eyes were wide, wild; his lips moving fast in order to expel the quick stream of words.

I did not want to be a science experiment.

"So what to we _do?_" I demanded, doing my damnedest to reign in my worry, my sudden fear of being attached to a computer or left to float in some tank.

"Nothing, there's nothing we can do. We just have to wait for Zell to find a way back. He's a Sorceress, he had create one of those damned portals… Goddammit, why isn't he back yet?" Seifer was frantic. If there had been anything to throw in the room, he would have thrown it. I was just lucky he hadn't thought of turning his anger on me. Other Seifer would have.

"So we wait," I said quietly, trying to calm him down. "Maybe your Zell just hasn't come to the end of the portal yet. It took me a long time to come out here."

Seifer nodded, quickly grabbing onto the excuse. "Yeah, that's probably what happened. You might have been falling long before we even found the source." Seifer stopped pacing, looking up at me with his blue eyes flashing. "Alright, so we wait. He'll try coming back here… I'm sure of it. Until then, we'll just have to cover up the fact that he's gone. You'll have to pretend to be him; if only for a few hours."

Okay, so I had to pretend to be me. Wow. I bet that was going to be strenuous.

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The last of the guards fell to floor; little streaks of golden energy still crackled over his body like a lightning storm. Seifer sheathed his gunblade, looking at the mess at our feet and smirking. He seemed rather proud of himself. And why shouldn't he be? We had fought our way through wave after wave of those damned soldiers in blue. Apparently, they had taken over the TV station and had been disturbed by our presence. I think we had finally managed to beat it into their skulls that we weren't SeeD, at least. The last few rounds of guards we had beat up had started addressing us with, "Oh shit! It's _them!_" Seifer had found that extremely funny.

"Is that all you've got?" he belted out to the empty hallway. He was practically panting, streams of sweat dripped down from his brow, and still he was awaiting a _real_ challenge. I could read it from his posture, from the glint in his eyes. My Seifer had looked like that too. At least that was one thing they shared; they had an undeniable lust for the battlefield, for combat.

"I don't think there're any left," I told him, wiping my own greasy forehead. Using my Power for such a concentrated amount of time really wore me out.

Seifer snorted, shaking his head roughly. Beads of sweat swung from damp strands of blonde hair. He whipped his head backwards, combing a single hand through his hair and molding it back into place. "We should get going then." He flashed a white smirk in my direction. "If we hurry we can catch up to the rest of your team."

"Tch," I frowned at him, rubbing the back of my neck. I tangled my fingers in my hair, tugging lightly at the few captured strands. Sweat caused them to slide easily from my fingers. "So? Lead ahead," and I gestured with a little flick of my wrist.

Seifer bowed, extending his arms in mock supplication. "Right this way, _my Lady_."

I swear, if I had even the slightest bit less self control, I would have killed him, danced on his body, and bowed to my audience of unconscious soldiers.


	7. Trust Me

[Author's Notes: Chapter seven is here! Huzzah! I was afraid I wouldn't have time to upload it before we left for West Virginia, but I managed to beg my dad to let me use the computer one last time before we left. (Woo!) Anyway, this chap is all AU-Zell, but believe me, I more than make up for it in the next chapter, which is (so far) over 6000 words of canon-Zell. Anyway, I have a slight, slight OOC warning for the first scene of this chapter. Seifer's a bit...erm...not-mean. Of course, in my little fantasy world, this isn't OOC for him at all. (He's just misunderstood, dammit! Misunderstood!!) ::ahem:: Yeah... And a big big thank you goes out to obi, Suke-san, and Bloodhazard, who have left so many nice reviews and much much ecouragement. (Thank you! ::hugs::)]

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**Succession of Witches**

Chapter Seven—Trust Me

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I wasn't sure what was more threatening, the manic gleam in Seifer's eyes, or the pair of scissors he was brandishing in front of him. Either way, I wasn't letting him get any closer to me.

"You're not touching my hair," I warned, backing up into a wall. I glared at him with all my might, preparing myself to cast a Thunder spell should he step any closer.

Seifer grinned, waving the scissors, "Yes I am, Zell. Now just hold still…" And he lunged at me. With a rather undignified yelp, I jumped out of the way and he collided with a wall. Grumbling, he pushed himself away from the wall, snapping the scissors at me menacingly. "Come on now, Zell, if you stroll into Galbadia looking like that, they'll know something screwy happened."

"I intend for them to know something happened," I retorted, once again backing away from him. "I'm not pretending anything, Seifer. I'm going to tell them what happened and then head back to join you at Deling."

"Dammit, Zell, just play along for a little bit."

"No. I don't see why I should. I'm not going to lie to these people."

"Yes you are."

I glared at him, crossing my arms over my chest and standing my ground. "What'll it accomplish? Huh?" I snapped, my fear being replaced by annoyance. "I told you I'll make sure they don't blame you."

"Goddammit," Seifer roared, "How do I get it into your head that they're not going to believe you?"

"You don't know that…"

"Yes I do, Zell. You said yourself you don't know these people. They'd rather admit you're crazy than believe you're a Sorceress."

"That's—"

"Stupid? Moronic? Yeah, I know. But that's how things work here."

I shook my head, still refusing to believe him. No one could just be that pig-headed… They _had_ to believe me… "I'm not going to lie to them," I said resolutely. "I'll make them believe me." I stared into Seifer's eyes, hoping beyond hope that he'd just _agree_ with me; that he'd trust me enough to believe that I could do what I said I was going to.

_'Have a little faith in yourself; I know you'll do okay.'_

Why couldn't he just trust me?

"Zell," Seifer hissed, his empty hand curling into a fist. Uh-oh… "You've got to trust me on this…" Trust him? Wait a minute…

"What about you? Why won't you trust me?"

I could almost hear Seifer's leather glove squeak in protest as he tightened his fist. His eyes flashed and he took a step forward… "Trust _you_? You don't even have a clue as to what's going on. Just _shut up_ and let me handle things."

"You have no right to order me around like this," I protested, ignoring the fact that Seifer appeared quite angry and had at his disposal a potentially dangerous weapon. Perhaps that was a bad move on my part…

The corner of Seifer's mouth twitched, and that was all the warning I had before he closed the distance between us, grabbed the front of my shirt, and slammed me against the wall. His eyes blazed with anger as he stared into mine. I swallowed nervously. Seifer leaned closer to me, so close that our noses were almost touching.

"Listen to me," he growled, lifting me a bit off the ground. I wrapped my hands around his wrist in a panic, willing him to let me go. "Just shut up and listen. Aside from your hair, you look exactly like Dincht. What are Leonhart and his cronies gonna think when you come parading up to Garden, smiling and waving and looking like a hippie?"

"I don't look like a—"

Seifer gave me a good shake, effectively shutting me up. "You have _beads_ in your hair, Zell." Oh… "As soon as they see you, their first thought is gonna be 'What the fuck happened?' And then when you start babbling about being a Sorceress from another dimension, they're gonna think you're crazy, and probably lock you up. And then you'll protest, 'But I _am_ a Sorceress! Seifer knows! Go find him!' You know what'll happen then, Zell?"

I shook my head, my eyes wide and scared.

"As soon as you mention my name, they'll be on me, demanding what I did to screw you up so bad!" I cowered as much as I could, considering Seifer's grip on me. "And you know why? Because in their eyes, I hate you, and I would do whatever it took to do you harm. I mean, isn't it so perfectly _in character_ for big, bad Seifer to fuck up Zell's mind?!"

"But I… I'd tell them it wasn't you!"

"Think, Zell!" Seifer shook me again, pressing me hard into the wall. "Their belief is that you're crazy; they're not gonna listen to a word you say."

I closed my eyes, relaxing my grip on his wrist. What if he was right? He…He did know these people… But, Hyne, why was everything so damn screwed up?

"Zell," Seifer whispered; warm breath blew against my face and I looked up at him, opening my eyes. His angry expression had softened somewhat; the flames in his eyes had been doused. "Zell…just…just go along with me for now, alright? I _am_ going to help you get home. You just…have to trust me."

It was almost like… Like I was speaking to my Seifer again. It was so easy to believe him at this moment, to just acquiesce and let him take care of…everything… He had said…He was telling me not to worry; he'd fix everything.

_'I won't let anything bad happen,' said as he smiled down at me…_

But look at what's happened now, Seifer. You're gone and I'm…

…lost…

I felt my throat constrict, closing painfully as I struggled not to lose control again. This Seifer had already had to watch me cry once… I closed my eyes, willing myself to take control, to reign in my emotions. My fingers trembled around Seifer's wrist, and I barely noticed when he lowered me back to the ground.

I wouldn't cry, I _wouldn't_ cry…

A sob broke past my lips, choking out and jerking my body. I closed my eyes tighter, bowing my head and biting my lip. I had to tell him…to explain why… "He told me…" but opening my mouth only released the sobs. Hot tears slid down my cheeks, dripping onto my hands, his glove.

Seifer let go of my shirt, of the scissors, and brought his hands up to my shoulders, cupping them. But I couldn't bring myself to look at him. He had sounded just like…

I let go; just dissolved into my tears. What if…what if I never found a way home? What would I do? Spend the rest of my life pretending…pretending to be someone else?

_Spend the rest of my life without you?_

I gasped and my body jerked again.

"Zell…" His voice was soft, worried. Familiar even though I had only known him mere hours; familiar because I _did_ know him. I knew him, but as someone else.

I wanted so bad for him to be someone else…

I couldn't take this… Everything…had just hit me at once. Every single doubt I had managed to suppress had just surfaced at once, converging on me and dragging me down. I had to make this go away; I had to get in control of myself again.

Wrenching my shoulders out of his hands, I flung myself at Seifer, wrapping my arms around his back and pressing my face to his chest.

_Hit me… Make me feel something else…Anything else but this… Give me a different kind of pain._

But he wouldn't… He wouldn't hit me; push me away or yell at me. He wouldn't distract my thoughts like I wanted. Instead, he circled his arms around me, pressing one to my lower back and bringing the other up so he could pet my hair. He pulled me to him and pressed me against his chest. The soft material of his shirt rubbed against my nose and I turned my face, laying my cheek against him instead.

Why…Why was he doing this? Why wasn't he angry?

"I'm sorry," he whispered, running his fingers through my hair, "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

A broken laugh tore itself from my lips. Hyne, they were just the same; so different, but just the same. "Sorry?" I stammered, my tears disrupting my speech, "There's nothing to be sorry for."

_'You didn't do anything…'_

"I made you cry again."

"No," I whispered, finally able to calm myself by focusing on his voice. If I really concentrated, it wasn't so much the same… "Not this time." I hugged him just a bit more, listening to his heartbeat as I brought myself under control. Finally, I pulled away, wiping roughly at my eyes as I refused to meet his. I was so weak…

While avoiding his gaze, I noticed the scissors, lying forgotten on the floor. I bent down, swiftly retrieving them, and extended them to him, finally looking up. "Here," I whispered. "Cut my hair; I'll pretend for you." I wouldn't let myself be that weak again; I couldn't, not if I ever wanted to get home.

Seifer nodded, his face blank, and took the scissors. "Sit down," he commanded, his voice soft. I obeyed, finding a clear place on the bare floor of the train and dropping down, sitting cross-legged. Seifer lowered himself behind me, settling down with a quiet grunt. He quickly went to work on my hair, cutting off inches. The only part he left even relatively the same length was my bangs, which he only trimmed. Finally, his fingers picked out that single beaded strand. He pulled it out, rolling the beads between his fingers. For a moment, I thought he might not cut it, but then the final snap of the scissors proved me wrong, and Seifer let the lock of hair fall to the train's metal floor. The beads hit and scattered, the vibrations of the train sending them rolling in all directions.

"I'll be right back," Seifer whispered, and he stood, walking over to the corner he had placed the other Zell's duffle bag in. He had secured it from Zone and Watts, along with my ticket, when we had gone to see them. I waited for him on my spot on the floor, picking at the end of my shorts. He returned only moments later, squatting down in front of me. Lips pursed in concentration, he opened the container of gel he had brought back and started to reach inside when he noticed he was still wearing his gloves. Cursing to himself, Seifer set the container next to him on the floor and pulled off his gloves, dropping them beside him.

He retrieved the gel and scooped a bunch out on his fingers. He stared hatefully at the quivering mass before dumping it on my head. I winced, feeling the blob begin to flow out of its original shape and spread on its own over my scalp. Seifer scooped up a second blob and plopped it next to the first before he began working it into my hair, smoothing it back. Once he was finished with that, he scooped out a third, smaller blob, and worked that into my bangs until they held vertical, the tips tilting slightly back. Through all of this, I had watched him with a look of despair on my face as he butchered my hair.

"It's funny," Seifer said, screwing the top back on the gel container, "I used to give Dincht hell because of his hair. You know your head looks like a chocobo's ass now, don't you?"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Think of it this way: you may be stuck _pretending_ to be Dincht, but at least you have enough common sense not to willingly wear your hair this way."

I sniffed, looking down at my shorn locks on the floor. "Maybe so, but he doesn't have to wear a dress."

Seifer chuckled, wiping his hands on his pants and replacing his gloves. "You know—"

But whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the overly cheery voice that came over the speaker mounted in the corner of the back car Seifer and I were riding in. "Attention passengers. We will be approaching the transfer station to the Deling train shortly. Please prepare to depart."

Seifer stood and tossed the gel back into 'my' duffle bag, grabbing his own things, which he had stuffed into a stray plastic bag he had picked up somewhere. It was a sickly yellow color and read _Choco Bob's_ on the side in big black letters. According to the text under the name, Choco Bob's was holding a sale; everything was half-off.

"You can use your ticket to get into your cabin; just slide it in that machine there," Seifer said, gesturing to a rectangle of dull-colored buttons and scrolling messages next to a nondescript door at the front of the car. "Make sure you get the number of your cabin; the machine takes your ticket."

"Alright," I mumbled, getting to my feet.

The train was slowing to a stop, and Seifer had moved to stand next to the exit door. He slammed his palm against a bright red square marked 'open' next to the door, and the slab of metal slid to the side. Air rushed in, blowing forgotten strands of yellow to all corners of the car. Dull red-brown scenery streaked by, gradually slowing. Seifer stood next to the open doorway, looking out. Right as the station began to come into focus, he turned, grinning.

"I almost forgot," he had to yell over the wind and the screech of the train. He reached into a pocket on the inside of his trench coat, rummaging around before he finally withdrew a shapeless black mass. "Here," and he threw the thing at me.

I caught it, pulling it apart to discover that what he had thrown me was a pair of black leather gloves, both of which were fitted with metal over the knuckles. I looked up at him, confused.

"I picked them up at Timber. You fight with them."

"I _what_?"

"Dincht's a martial artist; he fights with his fists. Paramagic was never really his thing."

"But I…Seifer! I don't know how to fight with these! I can't… I'm not good at physical combat!"

Seifer grinned, leaning slightly out of the doorway as the train drew up to the platform. "Just act like you know what you're doing, and you'll pass. That's all Dincht does anyway. And when Leonhart and them ain't looking, throw a nice Thundaga at your foe." He winked at me, stepping out of the car even before it had stopped. He kept up with the train for while, just long enough to yell through the door, "Don't worry; you'll do fine. I'll come back for ya as soon as I can." Then he stopped, and the train passed him by.

I was dumbstruck. He was…gone… I looked down at the gloves, rubbing my bare thumbs over the soft leather, the cool barbs of metal. I looked back to the open door; noticing that the train had finally stopped and expecting him to peek his head back in, smirking. He didn't.

It wasn't until the passengers had finished disembarking and the train had started moving again that I thought to look for him. I ran up to the still-open door, grabbing onto it's edges and leaning out against the wind. I looked back at the quickly receding station, at the small gray form I knew to be Seifer. He was motionless, and I knew he was looking at me.

"Seifer!" I yelled, as loud as I possibly could. "You better not forget me, you bastard! I'm not spending the rest of my life with a chocobo's ass on my head!"

The little gray form moved, lifting up an arm and giving me a quick wave.

I watched him a moment more, before he turned to board the second train that had arrived. Then I leaned back inside, pressing the button Seifer had hit earlier; it was now green and flashing the word 'close.' I turned my back to the door, looking at the now-empty car. I sighed, smiling wryly, before walking over to the duffle bag and pulling out my ticket. I shouldered the bag and walked over to the ticket machine. I quickly found a slot in which to insert the ticket, and did so. The machine beeped and the door next to it slid open.

I was just about to step through when my foot hit something, and the thing clinked against the wall. I looked down at it, bending so I could pinch it between my fingers and lift it up into the light. It was a glass bead, light blue and shining. I rolled it between my fingers for a few moments, looking back over the car to see little pin-pricks of light sparking against the fluorescent lighting every now and then. I turned back to the doorway and dropped the bead. It bounced off to join its brethren on the floor.

I crossed into the new car, slipping on my gloves.

**… … …**

I stretched, yawning as the disembodied voice informed me, once again, that the train had arrived at the station, and that all passengers were to get off, immediately. I yawned again, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I struggled to remove myself from the plush cushions of my cab's couch. Once that was managed, I located my bag, shouldered it, and stumbled from the cabin. I glanced in the window outside to make sure my hair was still in its chocobo-ass formation and made my way out of the train.

Outside, Garden students brushed past me, mumbling quick apologies over their shoulders. My train pulled out, chugging it's way across Galbadia's sandy hills. I watched it for a few moments before turning and walking the other way. I stopped when I got to the top of a set of stairs. From my vantage point, I could see Galbadia Garden in the distance, its blood-red paint making it blend in well with the desert. I shielded my eyes from the sun and glared at it. My hatred of the place simply couldn't be described in words. I wished for the umpteenth time that I had just said 'screw it' and gone with Seifer. He probably would have ended up beating the shit out of me, but at least I wouldn't have to return to this hell-hole. Hyne…

"Hey! Hey, buddy!" a kid in a whole lotta leather was weaving his way up the stairs towards me. He stopped, panting, in front of me. "Hey, kid," he wheezed, "D'ya know which train is the one headed for Deling? We're late and I don't wanna miss it."

"I'm not sure, but I think it's that one," and I pointed to a forest green machine sitting happily on the tracks.

"Thanks," the kid said, tipping his cowboy hat in gratitude, "I owe ya one." Then he was jogging up to the ticketmaster, waving a bright wad of gil at him. "Ticket! I need a ticket!"

I watched him for a minute, grinning to myself, before I started to descend the stairs. I didn't get very far before…

"Zell?" I knew that voice…

I looked up, squinting against the midday sun, and spotted a little brunette in bright yellow. She was staring at me in shock, her mouth open and her emerald eyes wide. I knew who she was almost instantly. "Selphie," I whispered, completely frozen in my tracks.

The girl took a step forward, reaching out for me, then paused, her hand shaking. Mere seconds passed and then… She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in the cotton of my simple white Tee. She was shaking, and it took me a minute to realize why: She was crying. Dropping my duffle bag at my side, I encircled her with my arms. "It's okay," I whispered, hoping only to comfort her.

"They said…You had been executed," she sobbed, hugging me tighter. Then she sniffled, pulling herself back a little to look up at me. She smiled, and she had a very beautiful smile, "But I knew you weren't dead! I told them, Zell. I told them that you'd be okay." She hiccoughed, and I rubbed her back reassuringly. She was just so tiny…

I suddenly wished Seifer had had more time to divulge to me my relationship to her. She obviously cared for the other Zell a lot, but I didn't know how he felt about her in return… I didn't know how I should react to this…so I just went with my instincts. I smiled and wiped away her tears. "I'm fine," I told her, suddenly very, very determined that I would find a way to bring her Zell back to her. Until then, I'd just have to do what Seifer said and play the part. I'd have to lie to her, but at least she wouldn't cry anymore.

"Selphie?" a second female voice drifted up the stairs, and both me and Selphie turned towards it.

"Quistis, look! It's Zell! He's alright!" Selphie turned back to me, hugging me again, before grabbing my hand and dragging me down the stairs. "I told you!" she exclaimed. "I told you he'd be alright!" I could tell by the tremor in her voice that she was trying to keep from crying again.

The woman, Quistis, was shocked at first; she merely gaped at me. "How—How did…?"

"Zell?" a guy in too much black leather came to a stop behind Quistis, blinking at me. I was guessing he was Leonhart—Squall.

Uhh… "Hi," I said smartly, smiling nervously. I was waiting for them to make the first move.

"Hey guys! What's takin' so long? The train's gonna leave if ya don't hurry."

I turned to the voice; it was the cowboy again. He was glaring pointedly at Selphie's possessive hold on my arm.

"This is Zell!" Selphie told him, squeezing my arm against her chest.

"Y'mean the kid who was executed?" the cowboy asked, his face lined with confusion. Yeah, I felt his pain.

"Yep," Selphie giggled.

"But…Uhh…" The cowboy lifted his hat just enough to scratch his head. "Shouldn't he be dead?"

Right at that moment, the train's whistle blew, signifying it was pulling out.

"Oh, shit!" the cowboy exclaimed, "That's us!" And he took off for the train.

"C'mon, Zell!" Selphie urged, tugging on my arm again. "We're going to Deling City!"

Deling…

Seifer…

And then she was pulling me forward again, Quistis and Squall following along behind. As we were passing my duffle I bent down to snatch it up, tucking it under my arm. We all just made it in time, pushing our way on-board just as the train started pulling out. Squall, being the last person on, pressed the 'close' button next to the door, shutting out the wind.

We all stood at various points in the back car, panting and wheezing. Quistis was the first to recover, clearing her throat to get our attention. "Zell," she said, her voice holding a calm, no-nonsense tone, "Can you possibly divulge to us how you're…not dead…"

I nodded, plopping my duffle on the floor. I tried to remember the story Seifer had concocted for me… "Seifer and I were picked up at the TV station; they wanted to take us to Deling. But Seifer…uhh…didn't really fancy going to Deling. He attacked the guards and I…erm…helped him." Seifer had told me I might expect some chastising from Quistis at this point, for not accepting my responsibility or some shit. Strangely, though, she didn't say anything, and I continued. "After that, I went back to Zone and Watts and got the ticket to Galbadia from them. I don't know where Seifer went after that; he split the moment we were free of the guards."

"So he's not dead either!" I turned to the speaker. It was a skinny little girl in blue that I hadn't noticed before. She was smiling widely and had clasped her hands at her chest. I felt a twinge of recognition, as if I knew her. She _did_ look a bit familiar…

Quistis frowned at her, "We can't be sure, Rinoa; that report of execution had to come from somewhere."

The girl—Rinoa—wilted instantly. The hope died from her eyes and she sunk back against the wall. I felt bad for her; Quistis didn't have to put it so harshly. I was getting ready to reassure her that Seifer was indeed alive and well before I remembered that we were supposed to have parted in Timber, and not in the middle of the plains of Galbadia. And then something else struck me… "Selphie," the little brunette turned to me immediately, giving me all of her attention. "Why…are we going to Deling?"

"Oh!" she hopped up and down excitedly. "We got knew orders! Tell him, Squall!"

I glanced over at Squall, who was staring at me in turn. "We received orders from both Balamb and Galbadia Gardens that we are to report to Deling. Once there, we are to assist him," Squall gestured at the cowboy, "to assassinate the Sorceress."

Oh…Oh, my…

But he wasn't finished there, "If he is to fail, we are to attack her head-on."

Assassinate…the Sorceress…

"Aren't you gonna introduce me, Mr. Leader?" the cowboy asked, sneering.

"…Whatever."

"This is Irvine, Zell!" Selphie filled in for Squall, "Irvine Kinneas!"

I merely nodded, not really paying that much attention. How could… I hadn't really given much thought to the fact that, since other Zell wasn't a Sorceress, there had to be a different one here. I mean, how else could that portal get there? But… If not me, who else could the Sorceress be?

Sensing something was wrong, Selphie captured my fingers, tugging lightly. "You okay, Zell?"

"I'm fine, Selphie."

Everything was just perfect.


	8. Junction

[Author's Notes: Hello, hello again! I've got an extra-long Canon-Zell chappie for you all! This one is packed full of even more confusing moments, more Irvine (enjoy, obi), and Snap. "And who is Snap?" you might ask... Snap is an original character I created for another FF8 fic (Chasing Spring) and I just re-used him in this one. (Because I love him bunches.) His personality's been altered a bit, but I figure I can write it off as him being in an AU, lol. Anyway, I really really wanted to apologize for two things: One, the lack of AU-Zell (because I know you wanted to see him confront the other sorceress, Suke-san, but that comes next chapter). And two: I completely bastardized Rinoa, and I'm sorry. I just needed a villain-type and she jumped out at me... So sorry to any fans of Rinoa; I had only intended to mildly bash her, but know I've made her all evil and shit. Whoops...]

* * *

**Succession of Witches**   
Chapter Eight—Junction

* * *

As it turned out, pretending to be the other Zell was proving harder than I'd thought. As soon as we had gotten back to 'my' quarters, whiny-hysterics-guy had returned, informing us that Headmaster Martine wanted to speak with us. _Immediately._ Before I even had a chance to open my mouth, Seifer was apologizing, telling the kid that the Sorceress had just been through a big ordeal, and that he needed his rest. Seifer told the kid to inform Martine that we'd see him as soon as possible. Then he had pushed the kid outside and slammed the door in his face. 

"That'll give us a few minutes, at least."

"A few minutes for what?" I asked, not trusting his intentions one bit.

"To get you ready for Martine."

"Why?"

Seifer scowled at me. "Because if you're not prepared, you'll blow our cover. You look like Zell, but you don't act like him at all."

Oh, really.

"We need to fix your hair, too. And your clothes."

"What's wrong with my hair?" I asked defensively, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's too different from his; Martine would suspect something." Oh… I had thought he was gonna say— "Besides, it looks like a damn chocobo's ass."

"It does not!" I yelled, stalking after him into an adjacent room.

"Just c'mere," Seifer ordered. "We don't have much time."

**… … …**

"Just _what_ were you thinking?!" Martine roared, his face turning a nice shade of red. He looked like a tomato. I hated tomatoes. "Attacking _me_! A Headmaster of Garden!"

"Sir," Seifer said through grit teeth, "To me, all signs pointed at you being at fault for my Sorceress' disappearance. I was merely—"

"Merely _what_, Mr. Almasy?! Merely _trying to kill me?!"_

"Not so, sir. I would only have killed you had it been proven you were responsible for Zell's disappearance."

Martine's eye twitched. "And how would you have proven that, Mr. Almasy?"

Seifer shrugged. "Interrogation. If that didn't work, torture."

Martine's bottom jaw dropped open; I had to bite my bottom lip to keep back my snicker. Seifer had said the most important thing was for me to be courteous to Martine, and I was trying my damnedest.

"This…This is completely unforgivable!" Martine exclaimed, slamming his palm down on his desk. "The direct and unprovoked attack on an administrator of Garden is to be punished by—"

"No," I said, doing my best to keep my voice steady and look intimidating at the same time. I don't know how well I was pulling _that_ off… "Seifer will not be punished for his actions; not by you or any Garden administrator. As my Knight, it is my duty to take responsibility for him and his actions." I hoped Martine wasn't noticing me glancing down at my hand every few minutes…

"How… You… You can't…" Martine seemed to deflate, sensing he was about to lose.

I took a quick glance at the piece of paper I was holding under the edge of Martine's desk. "He will be punished accordingly, Headmaster, although I believe _firmly_ that his actions are entirely excusable."

"_Excusable?!_ He tried to _kill_ me!"

"I've already made it clear that I had no intention of killing you at the time…"

"What?! Why… You…" Martine sputtered, his body shaking with rage.

I checked the paper again. "If my wishes are not observed, I will have to depart from Galbadia _prematurely_, Headmaster. I will return home _fully unsatisfied_ with my visit." Seifer had explained that this was the crucial part; basically, I was threatening Martine. It all had to do with politics. If the Sorceress came home _unhappy_ with his visit to Galbadia Garden, the public would find some fault with the location, and the blame would go to Martine. Seifer could be a crafty little bastard. "I _do_ hope we understand each other, Headmaster."

"Yes," Martine snarled, falling back into his plush office chair. "Yes, we understand each other perfectly." He dismissed us with a wave of his hand. "Admonish him as you see fit."

Seifer and I stood, and I crumpled the helpful piece of paper in my fist. "_If_ I see fit, you mean."

Martine glowered at us. If looks could kill, Seifer and I would be dangling from our toes, completely naked, in a snowfield in Trabia whilst Forbiddens took turns fucking us sideways with their swords. Oh yeah, I felt the hate. "Of course, _my Lord_," he hissed. "_If_ you see fit."

I smiled sweetly at him, bowed, and pivoted, leaving the man to his loathing.

Seifer and I walked in silence for a while. I tried my best to look regal while he snarled at Garden students that strayed too close. I got the impression that he rather liked doing this, and I didn't say anything about it.

He stopped outside a room that was now familiar to me: our quarters. He opened the door for me and I entered, immediately running for the poofy armchair. I kicked off my shoes and plopped right down into in, sinking into the cushion. I sighed contentedly, and Seifer snorted as he walked by, flopping down on the bed. I finished balling up the paper I had in my hand and chucked it at him. It hit his thigh and bounced off.

"Well?" I said, smirking, "How did I do?"

"You passed," Seifer said, yawning. "You need to work on your memorization, though; Martine probably thinks you have some odd fixation with your crotch now."

I glared at him, tugging at a loose lock of hair that had fallen into my eyes. I really missed my gel… "If you hadn't jumped him in the first place, we wouldn't have had to go through that mess. He's just gonna cause trouble for us now, you know."

"Yeah?" Seifer sneered, "And why do you think that?"

"Because if he could have gotten away with it, he would have Firaga-ed us both and swept our ashes under the rug."

"Martine?" Seifer snickered. "That wimp wouldn't even be able to figure out how to junction Fire, let alone cast it."

"You know," I sniffed, "The operative phrase in my statement was 'if he could.'"

"And the fact is he couldn't, so you shouldn't have said it to begin with."

I sighed in exasperation, throwing up my arms, "I was just trying to make a point!"

"And you failed, obviously."

I glowered at him. "Only because you're too dense to understand."

"Or maybe you're just too dense to make a point."

"Go to hell."

"Can't," Seifer said cheerily, sitting up, "Gotta find Zell first."

"So you can take him with you?" Apparently, that was a very bad thing to say…

Seifer glared at me, standing. "I might be going to hell," he growled, "but Zell isn't. And I would never even _think_ of dragging him down with me. Just remember that." And then he stormed off into the other room, slamming the connecting door behind him.

I was shocked. Normally it wasn't _me_ that got to Seifer; it was the other way around. I just kept forgetting that this Seifer was different. But Hyne, it was frickin' hard _not to_ when both of them looked _exactly alike._

**… … …**

I woke up the next morning to someone knocking insistently on the door. Growling, I turned over in bed, hoping that whoever it was would take the hint and go away; Zelly wasn't ready to interact with the world yet.

When the twerp kept knocking, I pulled a pillow over my head and burrowed under the covers. For the most part, the sound was blocked out, and I was just drifting back to sleep when…

"Dammit, Zell! Can't you hear that?!"

Well, yes, dumbass, that's why I've got the pillow over my head. Tch.

"Yeah?" Seifer snapped, yanking open the door.

"U-Uh…S-Sir…"

"Yes? What d'ya want?"

"Uh-Uhm…H-Headmaster Martine s-said to give you th-this…"

"Yes. Thank you. Go see someone about that speech problem."

SLAM.

Apparently, Seifer wasn't a morning person either.

With the knocking gone, and Seifer remaining quiet, I removed the pillow and started to drift into blissful, blissful—

"Goddammit!"

So much for sleep…

"What?" I mumbled, struggling to cast aside my blankets. Seifer didn't sound too happy.

"Get up, Zell," he ordered angrily, ripping the blankets away from my clumsy fingers. A sudden gust of cold air hit me, and I threw myself at my pillow, wrapping myself around the still-warm cotton rectangle. "Dammit, Zell! We don't have time for this!" And the bed creaked as Seifer crawled onto it, grabbing my ankle and trying to pull me away from the warmth of my pillow.

"No!" I exclaimed. "I don't want to! It's cold!"

"ZELL!"

"NO! COLD!"

With a growl, Seifer gave a rough yank to my leg, pulling me and the pillow backwards. He wrestled it out of my hands, throwing it to the far side of the room.

No! My warmth!

I looked for an alternative, only to find Seifer had torn the blankets from the bed. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering uncontrollably. Warmth, warmth…I needed warmth… I cast my eyes around the room and settled on…

Seifer.

He was sitting on the bed, in naught but his boxers, looking something this side of perturbed. But from just the few inches separating us, I felt waves of heat, and my body reacted before my mind had even processed the entire situation.

I launched myself at him, flinging myself into his lap and grabbing his arm and wrapping it around me. I sat there and shivered, basking in his warmth.

"Zell…_What_ are you doing?"

"C-Cold," I answered, my teeth chattering insanely, almost like those little wind-up toys. You know, the little plastic teeth with the feet.

Seifer sighed, slapping his forehead with the hand I wasn't rubbing against my frozen feet. "We don't have time for this, Zell. Martine just sent us new orders: We're supposed to go to Deling; some tramp with a god complex is claiming to be a Sorceress and is attacking the city."

"An' what does he want me ta do about it? I'm not a Sorceress."

"You're going to pretend to be."

I groaned, "I told you he'd try to get back at us. Spiteful bastard…"

"Zell," Seifer sighed, rubbing my arm in an attempt to warm me up faster, "I don't think he planned this…"

"But he doesn't have to send _us_ out, does he? Ain't that what SeeD's for?"

"But why send SeeD when you have a Sorceress to do the job."

"Yeah, there's just one problem with that… I'm not a Sorceress."

"Well," Seifer said, standing up and sending me tumbling into a pile on the bed, "You'd better learn _real_ quick."

**… … …**

"The situation doesn't look good. The entire city has divided into two sides, and each is desperately trying to kill the other," the speaker turned back to the front of the jeep, glancing out the window at a passing Wendigo. I had been told only his name, which was Snap, and that he was a SeeD. He and the driver, a cheery cowboy-wannabe named Irvine, had been assigned to Seifer and I as an escort.

The Wendigo took a swing at the yellow, Garden-issue jeep and Irvine swerved to avoid the attack. He whooped and slammed his hand down on the horn, further irritating the Wendigo. The green and yellow monster beat its huge fists against its chest, roaring out a threat. Irvine merely laughed, further endangering us by removing his right hand from the steering wheel to punch Snap in the shoulder in a 'Getta load of this!' motion.

Snap turned to scowl at him before looking back to us once more. He was pretty young for a SeeD, maybe a year younger than me, and had a pale, round face with big, brown eyes and greasy brown hair that hung in a bowl cut around his head. He was chubby, but not really fat, and had a perpetual frown on his face, but he wasn't as annoying as Irvine.

"Out of the two sides, we are to assist the military and General Caraway," he said. "The rebels leading the lower class citizens have captured the president and are holding him hostage, and it's our job to get him back."

"What are their demands?" Seifer asked. He had been sitting silently beside me in the backseat, calmly sharpening Hyperion; now he set the stone he had been using aside and looked up at Snap.

"Nothing so far. They just up and declared independence from the Galbadian government. I don't know what they plan to do with the president. It seems the most strategic thing for them to do, since they haven't demanded anything yet, would be to just kill him."

"Damn, Snap," Irvine said, chuckling to himself. "You sure don't seem to care much for your fellow man."

Snap just shrugged. "They're just not being very smart, is all. By keeping the president alive, they're leaving themselves open for such a retaliation as the one we plan to stage. If they were to kill him, it would be a major blow to their opponents. Deling is a figurehead, a symbol. Kill him, and you're one step closer to breaking the people."

Irvine let out a low whistle. "Just don't let Martine hear you saying that."

"It's not something I usually broadcast," Snap mumbled, leaning back in his seat and looking out the window once again.

I glanced over to Seifer, quirking an eyebrow and gesturing with a quick move of my head towards Snap. I hope Seifer got the message…

He just shrugged and turned back to his gunblade.

So either he didn't understand me, or he didn't know if Snap was okay or not. The kid looked harmless enough, I felt I could take him, at any rate, but his little speech kind of had me freaked out. Not even Squall had sounded that detached. Snap had just listed those little points off as if he was giving a lesson on how to tie your shoes, only minus the bunny ears.

"Lookit that," Irvine murmured, his normally excited tone replaced by one of quiet awe.

Each of us followed his instructions and looked out of the jeep. Deling City was fast approaching; a brightly lit scar on a green stretch of Galbadia. What at first I assumed to be fireworks sizzled and sputtered over the city, lighting up the eternal night.

"Dammit," Irvine hissed, "They're already using explosives. This is bad."

"I can't believe the situation has progressed this far already. At this rate, they'll destroy each other before we can even locate the president," Snap muttered, unclicking his seatbelt. "Excuse me a moment," he said to me and Seifer, leaning into the backseat and reaching around on the floor until he located what he was searching for. Grinning wryly, Snap pulled a long, wooden staff out of the backseat. He rubbed his thumbs over the smooth wood.

"Good idea, Snap," Irvine said. "Hey, uh, Sorceress, can you, uhm, grab my rifle? It's in the back with you, behind the seat."

"Alright," I said, undoing my own seatbelt and rummaging around behind the seat. My fingers finally brushed against a sliver of cool metal, and I withdrew Irvine's weapon, mostly wrapped in an old T-shirt. Unsure of what to do with the thing, I passed it up to Snap, who in turn removed the shirt and stuffed it in the glove compartment. He then handed the gun to Irvine, who laid it across his lap.

He stepped on the gas, and the jeep sped up, spitting sand and gravel out behind it. Mere minutes passed, and then we were at the gates of Deling, barreling through the unmanned guard post. Irvine hollered a stereotypical cowboy expletive and we continued on our perilous journey down Deling's war-torn streets.

It didn't take long at all for us to reach a road block. A group of Galbadian soldiers flagged us down, the leader peeking his head in the jeep. He squinted at each of us in turn before settling on Irvine. "What's your business in Deling?" he asked suspiciously.

"We're from Garden," Irvine replied, smiling amiably. "Two SeeDs, a Knight, and the Sorceress, here to retrieve your President."

"Thank Hyne," the man said, changing his tone instantly. "We're having one hell of a time subduing the rebels."

"Yeah, it looks like it. But hey, pal, you think you can point us in the direction of General Caraway? We were hoping to get our orders from him."

"Oh, there's no need for that, he left orders with us. Our guys managed to find out the location of the president a few hours ago; General Caraway gave us a map to give to you. He said to tell you that they've got the president holed up in the ruins up the hill north of us; it's their HQ, he says." The guy stopped his monologue to wave over another soldier. The soldier handed over a package that the first guy then gave to Irvine.

"Detailed directions are in there," he said, "the map too. The word is that the rebels' leader is there. I'd be careful if I were you; she may not really be a Sorceress, but she sure as hell fights like one."

Irvine thanked the man and saluted him, and then we were turning around and heading back the way we had come. The cowboy had handed the package to Snap, who had opened it and was scouring over the orders.

"It's as the guy says," he said, "Deling's at those ruins up ahead; they're called the Tomb of the Unknown King."

"Sounds like a theme park ride," I muttered. Seifer snorted, prodding me with his boot. Yeah, I got it; don't say anything unbefitting to a Sorceress. Sheesh.

"Well, theme park ride or not, it's crawling with monsters. The General practically calls the rebel leader insane for having her HQ there. It does seem to be strategically unwise…"

"Ugh, Snap, give your strategy a rest for a while. Just tell us what the rest of the orders say."

Snap sniffed, straightening up. "Caraway wants us to storm the place, take out the rebels, and bring Deling back safe and sound. It's another damned clearcutting mission."

"With a hostage situation on the side!" Irvine added cheerily.

Oh, boy, it sounded like so much fun.

**… … …**

Seifer and I had been running around in circles for what seemed like hours. Wave after wave of rebels interspersed with an Armadodo every now and then kept throwing themselves at us. It was all we could do to keep from dying. The fact that I kept having to use magic attacks wasn't helping. I was much quicker on my feet, pummeling my enemies with my fists. But as long as Irvine and Snap were around, I had to keep using magic.

Fortunately, we had lost them a few passageways pack, and I had been able to fight the way I wanted. However, I was without my gloves; Seifer had made me take them off before we had gone to see Martine. And believe me, fighting Armadodos without any form of protection was not fun. Unless you were a masochist, then I guess you'd get a kick out of it.

"Where's the Sorceress chick?" I hissed at Seifer as soon as he had finished kicking the Little Rebel That Wouldn't Give Up.

"She's not a Sorceress," he growled back.

"Whatever! Where is she? We've been down, like, fifty frickin' hallways and we still haven't run into her or the president."

"We just have to keep looking," Seifer replied, irritably, and pressed forward, stepping over a singularly obese rebel. I walked around.

I grumbled, but I followed him. I didn't really know why I was doing this; I honestly didn't have to help these people. It wasn't like it was my responsibility or anything. But then again…He had agreed to help me find a way home. Was this just one favor I had to do for him in return? Yeah, it was true he was Seifer, but he was different from _that_ Seifer. He was only an ass sometimes. Besides, I really didn't want to be on my own. The thought of being let loose in a world where I was thought to be a Sorceress frightened me. From what I had gathered from Seifer, a Sorceress on the loose would be less than welcome. I would be feared, persecuted, and inevitably end up screaming my head off on top of a windmill while a mob of angry villagers waved pitchforks and torches at me.

Hmm…Maybe I watched too much TV…

Nah. Everyone knew that TV was eventually proven true in some weird, alternate dimension. And guess what, I was currently residing in a weird, alternate dimension. Oh, yay. I guess I better get a head start and find good ole Dr. Victor.

Oh yeah, Sorceress chick. Forgot. I'd just find the good doctor right after I dealt with her. And then it was windmill time. Woo.

"Hey guys! A little help here?" It was Irvine; we had rounded a bend to find both him and Snap in a pathetic mass on the floor. Guessing from the odd greenish residue still hanging in the air, they had either just used a curative spell, or had been smoking Gyshal Greens.

Seifer and I trotted up to them, only to find that Irvine's leg appeared to have been gnawed on by a very pissed off Behemoth and that Snap was even worse off. He looked like a sieve that someone had poured red-dyed water through. Ugh. Irvine was digging around in their shared pack while Snap drooled on himself.

"I just used my last Cure," Irvine told us, solving the mystery of Cure vs. Greens, "and I don't know what spells he's got left. I've got, like, a potion and a half here, which should wake him up and allow me to walk. But you guys have to get in there," and he gestured to an eerily dark passageway behind him. "The leader's in there. The bitch isn't a Sorceress s'far as I could tell, but she's got one hell of a Blizzaga. Watch out for her." And once he had finished with that little spiel, he turned back to Snap, uncorking the full potion and lifting the other SeeD's head. He brought the bottle to the kid's lips and tilted it up. A green-blue trail of the plasma-like liquid leaked from the side of his mouth, and Irvine scooped it up on a finger, held open the kid's mouth, and wiped it on his tongue. Snap moaned, and a few of the cuts on his face began to heal.

I looked up at Seifer, who was glaring down that dark hallway. Well… I guess this was it, then. We were gonna go and face the Sorceress-fake that had managed to best two SeeDs. Hmm…What was that? Was it…a fat lady singing? I think it was.

We were screwed.

"C'mon, Zell," Seifer ordered, storming into that clinging darkness. Eugh…I bet there were spider webs… I hated spiders. Ever since the SeeD exam at Dollet, I just hadn't been able to stand the things. Especially the big, nasty, metallic ones that _just wouldn't die._

"Zell? Ya coming?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a twist."

As I was stepping into the shadow, losing my ability to see, I caught Irvine's distinctive southern drawl, "Ya hear that, Snap? Almasy wears lace undies!"

I couldn't quite suppress my snicker. Oh, the rumors that would be circulating… It was just a good thing Seifer didn't have a notorious temper or anything. Hee…

Too bad my brief little moment of happiness had to be spoiled so quickly. But, y'know, running _smack_ into someone's back kinda has the ability to ruin the moment. I yelped in surprise, windmilling my arms and stumbling backwards until Seifer grabbed the front of my shirt, yanking me forward and growling into my ear, "_Shut up_."

I smacked my lips closed and held my tongue between my teeth for good measure. It was just a wee bit too late though.

A bubbly, high-pitched laugh trickled into the utter blackness Seifer and I were immersed in. It was followed by, "I see you have returned, SeeD."

"We're not SeeD," Seifer growled. Well, technically I _was_ a SeeD…

"Well then come forward, intruders, so I might see your faces before I kill you."

"You know, I don't think I like her very much," I grumbled, grabbing onto Seifer's coat to avoid running into him again.

"That makes two of us," he mumbled in return, reaching around behind him until he found my hand. He squeezed it and pulled me up alongside him. Then he bent over, pushed my hair aside and whispered in my ear, "Fight her however you want. We'll make sure she's not able to tell anyone about it afterwards."

I grinned, squeezing his hand back, "That sounds like a plan to me."

Then Seifer led me forward, through the lightless hallway to an adjoining chamber. It was small, and only sparsely lit. In the center, right on top of a stone slab, sat the self-proclaimed Sorceress, grinning her pretty little head off. And, by Hyne, if it wasn't Rinoa.

I couldn't decide if my brain had gone and died on me again, or if I was just highly shocked. I think it was merely the latter, as I was able to comprehend what she said next.

"Oh, my, well if it isn't Garden's little whore," she giggled, bringing her fingers up to her lips as if she was trying to stifle the noise.

"R-Rinoa…?" What the hell was she doing here?

"Hmm," she smiled, looking positively feline. It was pretty damn freaky. "I'm honored you remember me."

"Zell…You know her?" Seifer asked. I think he had forgotten that I was not _his_ Zell.

"Of course he does, silly," Rinoa giggled again. "We only spent five years together." Fuck, no. If I had to spend that much time with Rinoa, I would have killed myself. Or her. Or possibly both of us. Seeing Seifer's shocked expression, she continued, "Didn't he ever tell you? No, I'm sure he wouldn't. I bet you've almost forgotten us all now, haven't you, Zell?"

"What are you talking about?" Seifer growled, wrapping his fingers tightly around Hyperion's hilt.

"Zell and I used to train together. We had both been taken in by Edea as candidates to become the next Sorceress. There were at least a dozen of us, and we had all spent our childhoods hoping to inherit our teacher's powers. But when we turned ten, she abandoned all of us; all of us except for dear, little Zell."

"And let me guess, you've held a grudge," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Rinoa smiled, showing a thin line of perfect, white teeth. "You weren't even the best candidate. I was a far better choice; I was stronger. And yet she chose _you_."

I grinned ferally, letting my genuine dislike show on my face. She was really pissing me off. "It must have been because of my irresistible charm."

Rinoa's smile faltered and her eyes flashed. She looked like she would have liked very much to strike out at me, but she refrained herself. "She chose you because she was foolish, because she was too stupid to see that I would have made a better Sorceress."

Seifer growled, and I had to resist patting him on the head and saying, 'Down, boy.' "Maybe so," I grinned, "Or maybe she just didn't want a Sorceress who'd spend her time terrorizing cities and hanging out with a bunch of idiots in a big monster-infested grave." And then I gave the bitch my best salesperson grin and winked.

"That's enough!" Rinoa yelled, jumping off her little stone slab. It looked like I had finally hit a nerve. Go, me. "Watts, Zone!" Rinoa ordered, glaring at Seifer and I with as much hatred as she could muster. Oh, joy. I should have known those two goons wouldn't be far behind. At least they were both completely harmless, or we might be kinda out--

Zone and Watts stepped out of the shadow behind Rinoa, both of them sporting more muscles than any human had a right to have.

--numbered... Hmm... Well, shit. Anyone up for a nice glass of _we're fucking screwed_. Yeah, I didn't think so.

"I think they should be more than enough for you," Rinoa smirked. "Watts, Zone," she turned to the Wonder Twins, "Take care of them while Mommy gets away, okay?" Ugh, Mommy... I did _not_ wanna know the significance of that one...

Watts and Zone nodded. Simultaneously.

Then they attacked.

The Wonder Twins' sudden lunge caught both me and Seifer off guard, allowing Rinoa to slip by and out of the room, cackling merrily.

While Watts lashed at Seifer with sledge-hammer fists, Zone tried to knock my head off with a mallet the size of a bicycle. It was like being the rodent in the Whack-A-Mole game; I wasn't enjoying myself.

Zone roared, swinging his mallet back and forth in front of him while I dodged, all too aware of the fact that he was pushing me into a corner. My ass hit the stone wall and I ducked as the mallet swept by, right where my head had just been. Cursing, I dropped to the ground and rolled away, Zone following after me, slamming his mallet on the ground. Every time it dropped, I felt a cold breeze blow by me.

I was tired of playing the mole.

I rolled by Rinoa's stone slab, grabbing onto the edge of it and pulling myself on top of it. From there I smirked down at Zone, who was more than a little confused at the new shift in height, jumped, and drop-kicked the bastard.

My heel smacked right against his shoulder, and I cheered internally at the crack-pop it made as it dislocated. The muscle-man roared in pain, stumbling backwards and dropping his mallet. Oh yeah, payback time.

I leapt forward, landing a barrage of punches squarely on his jaw before roundhousing him in the stomach. He doubled over, spewing bloodied saliva and teeth all over the place. But I wasn't finished there, no siree. I linked my hands together into a single fist, lifted them above my head, and brought them down directly on the back of his head. Zone hit the floor with a thud, sending a cloud of dust spiraling upwards.

All of it was kind of anti-climatic really. He went down in four moves. I had fought Grats that had put up more fight than that. Rinoa must have really under-estimated us. Oh well, her bad.

Smirking triumphantly, I turned to find Seifer leaning over the fallen body of Watts, poking it with his gunblade. "I don't think he's dead, just unconscious. How's your guy?"

"Same."

Seifer nodded, "Good. We better hurry after Rinoa; who knows what she'll do to the president."

"Righteo!" I exclaimed, following him out.

Irvine and Snap were waiting for us when we emerged; they looked even worse than when we had last seen them.

"Bitch cast Confusion on us before she left," Irvine muttered hatefully, "We were beating the hell outta each other for, like, five minutes."

"Here," Seifer said, tossing them each a blue bottle. "Hi-Potions."

"Thanks," Irvine smiled cheerily, his earlier sentiments forgotten, and downed the potion. His wounds closed immediately. Snap did the same. Once the two were just as good as knew, Irvine asked, "So? You guys get the president?"

"No. She left before we could ask her; she sent her goons on us," Seifer replied, none too happy.

"Then I guess we better start lookin', aye?" Irvine suggested, righting his hat.

"What if he's not even here?"

Irvine shrugged. "We should still look. Nothing else to do."

Seifer sighed, "Fine. But we should split up. We can cover more ground that way. We'll each take a different direction. I'll go north, you take south, Snap can go west, and Zell can check out the east part."

"Sounds good to me," Irvine agreed. "I'll meet you guys back at the front." He tipped his hat and took off down the south corridor.

Snap nodded to us each in turn and went west.

Seifer turned to me, slinging his gunblade up on his shoulder. "Just shout if you need anything. This damn place echoes; I'll find you eventually."

"Yeah," I said, "Same to you."

Seifer grinned, saluted, and pivoted, heading up the north hallway.

And that left east. For me.

There had better not be any spiders...

**... ... ...**

Hyne, this was boring. I had been walking and walking and walking, and had yet to see anything. My feet felt as if they had been whittled into bloody stumps and my back was aching something awful. And what was worse, my allergies were acting up. The century's worth of dust and mildew was finally affecting my sinuses. My nose was running like an antelope on speed and I felt one bitch of a sinus headache coming on. I sneezed, and immediately had to wipe my dripping nose. This had to be the worst form of torture...

I turned a corner, _once again, _to find a big bunch of nothingness. This led to a mild temper tantrum that ended with me stirring up the dust and submitting to a string of sneezes that made me feel like my brain had gotten thrown outta my nose. It was actually a pretty interesting feeling. Not fun, but interesting.

I was just starting to continue my search when something very peculiar happened: I glanced to my right, thinking I had seen a doorway there, when my vision flashed white and I felt a sudden blast of air all around me. The blinding whiteness began to subside when...

_three boys were facing off against a pair of statues only they weren't really statues they were brothers and they were old and they were _**_angry_**_ very very angry because someone had intruded on their sanctuary and the intruders had to be stopped and the intruders were..._

...me, Squall, and...Irvine...?

_and then the bigger of the two fell to his knees and the three boys kept attacking even as the other struck out at them and then even he was defeated and offering up his services turning to the Sorceress and offering his power and his brother's strength._

I gasped, sitting straight up and panting as if I had just run a marathon. My head was pounding and I held it in my hands, trying to sort out what I had just seen.

What the _fuck_ had I just seen?

But more importantly, what was I doing on the floor?

I quickly got to my feet, ignoring the pain in my head and spinning in a circle, trying to discern if there was any threat nearby. I didn't see anything, not even a stray cobweb. What...What had just happened? I...I had seen...me... Me, Squall, and Irvine. And we had been fighting those...things.

_GFs._

Okay...GFs... But...Why had I seen that? Had it been a premonition? Would I meet up with Squall later, too? Would Irvine help us fight off a pair of...GFs?

No, that didn't seem right... I had missed something... The GFs had offered their power to us after we had beat them. No, not to us, just to me. To the...

...Sorceress...

Ah, shit.

Did that mean... Had I seen the other Zell? If that was the case then... Then that had been my Squall and my...Irvine... But I hadn't even met Irvine until I came to this dimension.

Hyne, this was fucked up.

But...I guess if there was two of everyone else, there had to be two of Irvine. And Snap, too, I guess. Jeez...Talk about confusing. It was just a good thing my brain was becoming used to being confused beyond belief, or I'd be imploding right about now.

But hey... If I had just seen the other Zell... Did that mean... Did that mean that there could be a portal or something nearby? Yeah...Yeah, that had to be it. Maybe the other Zell was gonna teleport back, or whatever Sorceresses did. Maybe he just got his directions mixed up and had ended up stranded here.

Talk about convenient.

I bolted down the hallway, frantically yelling out, "Zell! ZELL! MR. DINCHT!" dodging cobwebs and low-hanging rock formations. My voice was starting to become strained when I heard something. I pulled to a stop immediately, praying to hear the sound again. When it came, though, I wasn't prepared for it.

The flash of white hit me again, followed by the harsh gust of wind. And then, the confusing sparks of images that sent my mind reeling. Only this time, they were accompanied by speech:

_the Sorceress was kneeling on the ground next to the smaller brother who was leaning forward on the handle of his mace "you are different from the others, human. you are...stronger..."_

_"I...am a Sorceress."_

_"why didn't you use your powers against us, sorceress? the battle could have been ended far more quickly."_

_"The others can't know what I am. They...They wouldn't understand."_

_the younger brother cocks his head peering down at the Sorceress "WHY WOULDN'T THEY?"_

_"Because... I am not from this world. I am not...who they think I am..."_

_"he's right, brother, he does not feel...the same as those other humans."_

_"Can you help me?"_

_startled "help you with what?"_

_"You said you'd help me. I... Do you know how I could get home?"_

_"you are a sorceress, no?"_

_"Yes..."_

_"then translocate. there's enough magic in this place that you can draw power from. if that isn't enough, we can help you."_

_"I can't..."_

_confused "CAN'T WHAT?"_

_"Translocate... I... I can't focus right... Or something..."_

_"then...i don't know another way."_

_"Oh..."_

_"BUT WE WILL HELP YOU."_

_"yes, sorceress. we will not abandon you. you are far too...interesting."_

_"Uhm...Thanks...?"_

_laughter "DON'T SOUND SO SCARED, SORCERESS, WE'RE NOT REALLY AS TERRIBLE AS WE LOOK."_

_"not at all. in fact, junction us. junction us and you'll see."_

_"WE'LL __FIND A WAY__ TO HELP YOU HOME, SORCERESS."_

_"yeah, so don't worry."_

_"Thank you..."_

Reality flashed back into focus so fast that I got mental whiplash. I moaned, sitting up and rubbing my head. Goddammit, I was on the ground again.

"Zell? Zell, you okay?" It was Seifer, he leaned into my line of sight, a look of worry crossing his features.

"Seifer!" I exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders, "You won't believe what I just saw!"

"What you just..."

"I saw the other me, Seifer! The Sorceress! He was fighting these things, see, GFs, and then he beat them! And then they were talking, him and the GFs, and he told him he was a Sorceress, and asked if they could help him find a way home. And they told him to translocate, but he said he couldn't, something about not being able to focus, and then he asked if there was another way. They said there wasn't, but then said they'd help him anyway," I stopped, took a deep breath, and gave Seifer a shake. "Isn't that great, Seifer? He's got help getting home now! If those GFs find a way back for him, then he can help me! Isn't that great?"

Seifer removed my hands from his shoulders, stood, and said, "You fell...Hit your head." He started to turn away, and I felt my heart sink. After all that we had been through, he...he wasn't going to believe me.

"But I saw it, Seifer!" I protested, standing too quickly. My head whirled and I lost my balance, stumbling a bit before I regained it. "My vision went all white and stuff and then I saw him! I did, Seifer! I--"

"You hit your head, Zell. You're delusional." And then that was it. Seifer didn't even turn around to look at me, he just kept walking.

But I knew what I had seen hadn't been a dream. I _knew_ it. If he didn't want to believe me, that was his problem. Angry now, I followed along behind him, my hands in my pockets and my shoulders squared. I glared a hole in his back.

"Irvine found the president. They're waiting for us back in the jeep."

"Wonderful," I mumbled. Seifer took the hint and shut up. He didn't want to believe me and I didn't want to talk to him when he was being this pig-headed. And so we walked along in silence, in angry silence. I wished he was my Seifer suddenly, so I could hit him without feeling any guilt.

Pouting to myself, I barely noticed when Seifer came to an abrupt halt; I had to jump to the side to avoid running into him. "What's the idea?" I demanded irritably, expecting a lecture on insisting delusions were true.

"Zell…Come here and look at this…" Seifer grabbed the sleeve of my T-shirt and pulled me forward, pointing me in the direction of the wall.

Oh…

Oh, my…

It was me. Or, naked, shiny me. I was standing amidst a lightning storm, two similar-looking men on either side of me. My eyes were wide open but blazing an odd golden-yellow color, and my hands were spread at my sides, palms forward in a gesture of supplication. A billowing, white sheet was all that covered me and my two 'friends,' who I also noted were naked. One of them was taller than the other, but they both had twin headbands wrapped around their foreheads, both of which sprouted a pair of horns.

I blinked at the wall. It was like homosexual mural porn… I didn't remember posing for this, so that had to mean…

"Sorceress Zell," I whispered, awestruck. Did my hips really curve like that? I hadn't ever noticed it before… Maybe it was just an effect of the paint; like the whole 'the camera adds ten pounds' thing. Maybe wall murals exaggerated how wide your hips were.

"Yeah…I…I think you're right…" Seifer sounded just as stunned as I did. Maybe he was wishing he could take the place of one of the horned guys. Hmm… Horned guys…

Oh yeah. Bingo!

"It's them, Seifer. Those are the GFs I saw him talking to! Only… They're all human and…shit…"

"Then what…?" Seifer trailed off, his head snapping instantly to the side; he glared down the hallway behind me.

"What is it?" I asked nervously, inching closer to him but not turning around. I was afraid I'd find that damned spider waiting in the shadows, having revived once again and tracked me down to finish the job.

"Shush, listen."

And I did. Only to hear, not the mechanical workings of my arch-nemesis but…

…footsteps… Two pairs of them.

"look at what we have here, brother."

"INTRUDERS…"

"and what do we do with intruders, brother?"

"HEH HEH…WE KILL THEM."

Oh…Yipe…

Two shadows stepped into the awkward light of our hallway, revealing themselves to be…

"That's _them_, Seifer!" I exclaimed, waving a pointed finger wildly at them. "The GFs Sorceress-Zell fought!"

"sorceress?" the smaller of the two stepped forward, scrutinizing me.

I backed up awkwardly, "Uhm…Yeah…"

The smaller GF looked up at the taller one, who shrugged and pointed at something behind me. "LOOK."

Seifer, the smaller GF, and I all turned to look. It was the mural. I had somehow managed to back up until I was right under the naked picture of the other Zell. My eyes widened. I turned back around, waving my hands in front of me. "Nuh-uh! I know what you're thinking, but that's not me!"

The smaller GF rolled its eyes. "we know that, stupid. the point sacred was trying to make was that you bare a resemblance to the single human we're sworn to protect."

Oh…

'Sacred' nodded. "YEAH. ME AND MY BROTHER HAVE WAITED FOR HIM FOREVER."

"Well," I said, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but he ain't here. He's, like, trapped in another dimension in which your counterparts are trying to help him get home."

"we are aware of that, also."

Oh, again.

"But you were still waiting for him anyway?" Seifer asked, entering into the conversation at last. At least he'd believe me now. Woo-hoo.

"NOPE."

"we were waiting for him," the little one pointed at me.

"Me?"

"Zell?"

Confusion abounded.

"YEAH. ONLY WE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOU WE WERE WAITING FOR UNTIL JUST NOW."

"Oh…" I had been saying that a lot lately… "That must have been…frustrating…"

"you have no idea."

"BUT WE KNOW NOW."

"right, brother."

"So…Now what?" I asked nervously, fearing their answer would be 'ritual sacrifice' or some such horror.

"now…"

"…WE HELP YOU."

Uhm, yay?

"Help him how?" Seifer inquired suspiciously.

"we're going to help you find a way home."

"SO THE SORCERESS CAN RETURN AS WELL."

"we want you to junction us."

"Junction? Both of you?"

"we will not be separated."

I turned to Seifer for guidance. He merely shrugged his shoulders, indicating this was my decision. Great.

"Alright," I whispered. I closed my eyes and concentrated, imagining an empty room in my mind. I was going to fill that room… I opened my eyes and sighted the two GFs; they stood in front of me, waiting patiently. I imagined them entering that room… "Junction: GF Brothers," faced with such a spur-of-the-moment type decision, I had made up the name off the top of my head. It was just a good thing I hadn't slipped up and called them the Fuzzy Twins or anything like that…

I felt an influx of power and my vision dimmed, a small zephyr rushed by, blowing my hair. I sensed it as the two GFs took up residence in my mind; I felt it when Quezacotl, who I had forgotten, crooned and stretched her wings to make room for them. And then I felt their thoughts joining mine, briefly, before I cut off that bit of contact. But I could still hear their whispers in my head.

Minotaur and Sacred. I knew their names.

I blinked my eyes open, turning to Seifer. I smiled at him reassuringly. "They're junctioned."

He nodded. "We should get going then. Snap and Irvine are probably worried."

"They're SeeDs; they're not paid to be worried."


	9. Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec

[Author's Notes: Sorry, sorry! I know I've been getting these chapters out sooner than this, but I've just had a bit of a problem with writer's block. But here you are at last, chapter nine. (Woo.) It's more of my average chappie size this time, instead of the 7000-plus words. And this time, it starts out with AU-Zell, though I do start switching POVs again. There's more Irvine for obi, the confrontation with Edea for Suke-san, and more humor and confusion for everyone else. ::cheesy grin:: Anyway, thank you's go out to all my lovely, lovely reviewers: (the usual three; I love you guys!) Suke-san, Bloodhazard, and obi, and to Tainted Halo and Shido as well. Hugs to you all!]

[Oh aaand...one last note... You'll probably be able to estimate how long this fic is gonna end up being by the time you get to the end of the chapter. It won't be _long_ long, but I'll just say that the end won't come any time soon. Sooo...don't throw anything at me... Please. ::slinks away::]

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**Succession of Witches  
**Chapter Nine—Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec

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Some days, when just about everything seemed to go wrong, I'd seriously start to wonder if there was some higher power up there, who's single reason for existence was to make my life hell. Today was one of those days. 

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the window; through that slender panel of glass, I could hear the excited bubbling of the crowd. Their seemingly mindless joy grated against my mind, and I wished for an instant that I didn't have a conscience, if only so I could blast them all into a crisp.

Hyne, that would make me feel a _whole lot_ better.

if we had known you were homicidal, we wouldn't have let you junction us.

YEAH. WHAT DID THOSE PEOPLE EVER DO TO YOU?

I frowned at the rough voices in my head; Sacred and Minotaur hadn't let up since I had junctioned them. They had promised to help me, but so far all they were doing was driving me slowly insane.

that's not a very nice thing to think.

Shut up or I'm gonna kick you out.

DON'T DO THAT! HE'S SORRY!

no i'm not…

I don't care_ if he's sorry or not, I just want you to be quiet so I can think._

ALRIGHT, ZELL. WE'LL BE QUIET.

yeah. whatever.

Fine. Just give me a minute alone.

Then the two brothers retreated into the darker hollows of my mind, and I was once again able to concentrate. I almost wished I wasn't.

Why don't we recap the day's events? That way the studio audience can have a preview of my pain. 'Why Zell's Life Sucks,' showing in theaters everywhere this fall. Tch.

I guess things hadn't started out so bad. We had all gone to sleep on the train, curled into various corners and crevices in our (single) private cab. That was six people, all stuffed into one cab. It didn't leave much room for movement. But that didn't matter so much, really. All of us were tired and ready to drop; it was well after noon when we got on the train, and the ride would get us there in a little over three hours. So Selphie suggested we all take a nap. I didn't have a problem with it; train rides always made me sleepy. Even though I had just woken up from an impromptu nap on the first train, I felt tired enough to stretch out on the bottom bunk and go to sleep. Unfortunately, I ended up having to move over to make room for Selphie, who had gotten it into her mind that she wouldn't let me get more than three feet away from her, and both the couch and the top bunk went over that limit.

So we rode into Deling in an awkward formation: Quistis, Squall, and Rinoa on the couch, Irvine on the top bunk (he had originally tried to squeeze in between Quistis and Rinoa, but the blonde-haired instructor wouldn't have it), and Selphie and I spooning on the bottom bunk. It wasn't so bad, I guess. I kind of liked it actually; Selphie was just like a giant teddy bear. I couldn't _not_ feel comfortable; which was pretty weird, actually, considering I had only known the girl for a few hours.

But that oddness aside, we arrived in Deling okay. Despite the fact that it should have only been about 3:30, the sky was pitch-black. I had heard stories of the eternal night that graced Deling, but I had never experienced it for myself. The whole sight was rather breathtaking, and if I hadn't been hurried along by Squall and Quistis, I could have wandered around in a daze all night, or at least until I passed out. As it was, though, we rushed to Caraway's residence, only to find that some dumbass guard wouldn't let us in until we brought him back a code number.

Now if that wasn't a 'What the fuck' moment, I don't know what is. I mean, we were there to help the guy out, and his guard wouldn't even let us see him till we had drug our asses over to some damn ruins and brought him back a _number_.

That's the kind of shit that gives people twitches and inspires them to go on mindless killing sprees.

Apparently though, Squall was just too detached to even care that much, and as he was our squad leader, we went along with what he said. So that was how he, Irvine, and I ended up trekking across miles of Geezard-infested land, just to completely miss the tag with the code number right in the entrance of the ruins. We ended up wandering aimlessly around the place until we had used up all of our potions and had developed an irrational hatred of Armadodos. The only redeeming part was when Irvine mistook Sacred for a statue and tried to slink behind him to take a leak. As soon as his pants were unzipped, the unfortunate GF leapt up declaring, "GET THAT AWAY FROM MY ASS!"

And everything went to hell from there.

The GF jumped us, determined to avenge his injured pride, and, after minutes of us getting our asses handed to us, it finally occurred to Squall that those two girls had a reason to be screaming "FLOAT!!" as they ran from the ruins. Then we beat the bejeezus out of Sacred and he ran off to find his brother. And by some Hyne-be-damned twist of fate, we happened across the _very room _that Sacred and Minotaur were hiding in. But we were just lucky that way.

So after that?

After defeating Sacred and Minotaur, the two had told me to junction them, promising to help me find a way home. So far, they had been less than helpful. We had walked back to Deling, beating back another horde of Geezards, and the two had merely bickered in my head, which proved to be a little bit distracting. Just a little.

But we had arrived at Deling at last, witnessed a little touching scene between Rinoa and her father, gotten dragged around the city, and locked in Caraway's office because Quistis' conscience had chosen the most perfect moment to start beating her over the head with the 'Thou-must-be-nice'-ness.

I was less than pleased, and the festivities of the crowd on the streets below wasn't helping. And the fact that all this bad shit was just the tip of the iceberg-shaped pile of bad shit wasn't making things any easier. For once, _just once,_ I would have loved to get a break, just five minutes maybe, from all the excrement that was getting thrown at me.

And here I thought visiting Martine's happy home for a week would be bad. Fuck.

"I think…" Quistis murmured, her voice gaining confidence and increasing in volume as she turned to face me and Selphie, who were both gazing unhappily out the windows, "…that I may have found something."

"What is it?" Selphie asked, sliding by me to get to Quistis.

I glared at the gleeful mass below, flipping them off before turning to see exactly what Quistis had found.

As it turned out, she had found a wineglass.

Mmm…Yeah.

"Oh! Oh!" Selphie said excitedly, bouncing up and down. "What is it, Quistis? Is there something on the glass?"

"No, Selphie, just watch. I'm gonna try something." And with that, the blonde woman walked over to the statue in the corner, promptly giving it the wineglass.

Welp, it looked as if someone was finally crazier than I was. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not…

"Uhm…Quistis…" Selphie sounded highly confused. I didn't blame her.

"Huh," Quistis remarked. "I had thought…" Just then, the statue's hands lowered, and we all craned our ears to the sound of gears turning. Then the whole thing, statue and stand alike, flipped to the side, letting out a gust of stale air and revealing a very suspicious-looking path. Selphie and I jumped back, letting out twin squeaks of surprise. Quistis merely smiled smugly to herself. "I kept feeling a draft of air every time I walked by the statue," she explained.

"Oh, I get it now! And like in the movies, you figured there had to be something back there!" Selphie added, giggling at the end of her explanation.

"That's very good, Selphie!" Quistis praised, and I was reminded that she was, in fact, a teacher. I wondered if she'd have any gold stars on hand to give Selphie. Evidently not, as she said next, "Alright, team! Let's go!" and walked straight into the hidden passageway.

And if it's one thing I have to say about hidden passageways—although there should be no time in one's life when the current situation requires them to remark on anything of the sort—it's that they are not the type of paths you just stroll down as if nothing was wrong in the world, which is precisely what Quistis had just done. At least Selphie stepped forth with a little trepidation, pausing in the doorway to make sure I was right behind her.

"I always thought finding one of these would be cool," she whispered, hugging herself, "but it's actually preeetty creeepy…" and she shuddered to illustrate her point.

I nodded sympathetically. "Let's just try and keep up with her."

"Alright," Selphie acquiesced, walking a bit farther into the passage. She stopped just a few feet in though, turning back to me. "Uhm, Zell… Can you…walk beside me? I don't like having all this space on my sides."

"Sure," I agreed, glad that she had been the first to ask; I didn't wanna walk with so much shadow on either side of me, either.

She waited until I was next to her before she started walking again. We had not walked five steps before her fingers sought out mine, and I wrapped her small hand with my own.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking down at her feet. I could tell she was embarrassed. It was too cute.

I smiled to myself and squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Any time."

After that, Quistis yelled back to ask if we had died and we picked up the pace, catching up to her quickly.

* * *

Our happy little yellow jeep bounced along the plains of Galbadia. Up front, Irvine chatted merrily with Snap about their successful mission whilst, in the backseat, I sat between two very quiet individuals. On my left was Seifer, who was leaning back against the seat, his eyes closed and a pained expression on his face. I could only imagine what he was thinking of, and none of it could be good. He was probably worried about his Zell, and I didn't blame him; I couldn't help but think of Squall and the others. Had they gotten out of Timber okay? Or had the Galbadians captured them? What about Seifer? Had the Sorceress come back for him? There were just too many questions that needed answers. What was I gonna do? Would I ever see any of them again? 

What if I was stuck here forever?

Hyne, that was a depressing thought. Everyone, everything, I ever knew was back with the other me. I couldn't spend the rest of my life pretending, I just couldn't. I'd go crazy; totally, abso-fucking-lutely, crazy. And then I'd be found out, and then Seifer would get in trouble, and then the world would go to hell in a hand basket. And just what, exactly, did that _mean_ anyway? Of _course_ the world wouldn't go to hell in a hand basket; how could it _fit_ in the frickin' hand basket? Why did it matter?

Oh yeah, that's right: it didn't.

I needed to focus; to figure out what I was gonna do next. I couldn't just wait around for the other Zell to find a way back, because chances were, if he was anything like me, he'd be waiting for _me_ to figure things out. It was just a good thing I was a genius, or I might be kinda screwed. Tch.

"But at least we know what this chick looks like now," Irvine's voice drifted into the backseat, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, but Irvine, it's not like we can just go door-to-door looking for her. She could be anywhere," Snap retorted.

"Ah, c'mon, Snap, don't ruin it for me. I'm jus' trying to put a positive spin on things."

"Well put on a more _realistic_ positive spin."

"I _was _being realistic."

"No you weren't. I've known you long enough to know how your mind works."

"And jus' _what_ is that supposed t'mean?"

"That you're too simple. You take one little thing and morph it into this grand…" Snap trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Yes?" Irvine prodded, sounding just a bit irritated.

"…plot," Snap finished, casting a sharp glance at the cowboy. "You've probably already got the fake's capture all written out in your mind, don't you?"

Irvine sniffed; he had been caught. "An' what's wrong with that? It doesn't hurt to look ahead."

"For Hyne's sake, Irvine, just think about it for a minute, will you?"

"What's there to think about?" Irvine shot back, just as hotly. "We're gonna capture her eventually, Snap! I don't see what the big deal is!"

"The big deal is that we probably _won't_ be able to find her again; not until she goes public!"

"I wouldn't say that…" the sleepy voice drifted out of the being next to me, and I turned to my right, fixing my eyes on the lumpy form of the president. He yawned and stretched, and I flinched away when his arm brushed mine. I knew he probably wasn't the same as the other Deling, but I still didn't want anything to do with him.

"What d'ya mean by that, sir?" Irvine asked politely, though he shot Snap a quick glare, which the other SeeD promptly returned.

"The, ah, 'fake,' as you called her, happens to be the daughter of a man I know."

"W-What?!" Snap sputtered. Irvine's shock was equal, he forgot himself for a moment and jerked around in his seat, a question written all over his stunned features. Snap, fortunately, had more of his wits about him and grabbed the wheel before we ran straight over a Geezard. He punched Irvine in the shoulder and the cowboy turned back around.

"I'm sure my…friend…wouldn't like me to disclose this information, but I feel it is imperative to the safety of Galbadia. The girl's name is Rinoa Heartilly, and you will most likely find her in Timber."

"Well that's…" Irvine mumbled.

"Helpful," Snap finished for him.

Helpful for them. I already knew who Rinoa was, and frankly, I could care less. All this meant was that Seifer and I would be shipped over to Timber, to chase after some only-slightly-stable Sorceress-wannabe. That was not fun in my book.

* * *

"Ew! Ew! Ew!" Selphie exclaimed as she jumped around suspicious puddles of dark-green sewage liquid. The only thing that was keeping me from doing the same was the fact that it wasn't very manly, and I figured I should try to keep the last scraps of my masculinity. 

"Selphie, be quiet a minute," Quistis ordered, features creasing in concentration. "I think we're getting closer; I can hear the crowd a lot more clearly now."

Selphie obliged, and we three all listened closely to the drone of voices leaking down through the concrete. Quistis was right, they seemed a lot louder now. Thank Hyne; I was getting sick of wandering aimlessly through this damn sewer. It wasn't just the smell, which was almost overpowering, but also the dark and the quick click of claws that you could just make out scurrying around corners. We had fought the usual slew of Red Bats and Creeps and the occasional Grand Mantis, but it was the things you couldn't see that started getting to you.

Of course, the chance that what I kept hearing was anything other than sewer rats was slim, but it was still enough to make me cast fearful glances over my shoulder. And I wasn't the only one; I had caught Selphie and even Quistis doing the same. The place was just too creepy.

Luckily for us though, our little scenic tour ended down one more turn in the bend. We all sighted the ladder and let out sighs of relief. Quistis was the first to go up, then Selphie, and then myself. At the top of our shiny ladder of hope was the very gateway controls we had been looking for. Convenience was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

"Selphie," Quistis asked, automatically sighting the switch for the gate, "Go and see if the Sorceress has made it here yet. I just hope we're not too late."

Selphie ran to the little rectangle of missing wall that posed as a window and leaned out her head. "She's right under us, Quistis! Pull the switch!"

And Quistis did just that. The building shook as the gate dropped down from the top of the arch, slamming into place and successfully locking in the Sorceress. Quistis was smiling as she walked past me to the window. She gave my shoulder a quick squeeze and leaned out the window next to Selphie. I hung back, waiting for the single squeeze of a trigger that would end the life of a woman I had never known, but felt connected to nonetheless. I had more in common with her, my supposed enemy, than I did with any of my 'teammates.' And that sucked. A lot.

A quick, almost silent 'BANG' was the only indication of what was about to happen. I closed my eyes, breathing out silently, waiting for the surprised uproar of the crowd. What I heard instead was not what I'd expected.

"Oh, no…" Selphie murmured silently, her quiet words almost drowned out by Quistis's harsh, "Damn!"

Something unexpected had happened.

"She caught it!" Quistis whispered, her tone somewhere between anger and awe. "She stopped the bullet…"

Oh. Well…That was…Not good…

Hyne, that meant we'd have to go in and kill her. Hand to hand.

Sorceress against Sorceress.

"Zell! Oh, Zell, look! It's Squall!"

I blinked out of my stupefied state, stumbling over to the window and pushing my head out. I saw Squall alright; he was the little black form climbing onto the Sorceress' float. But my eyes just wouldn't stick with him. Instead, they traveled upwards, towards the front of the float, towards Seifer, towards the woman standing next to him.

I stopped breathing.

The Sorceress…

The woman I had been sent to kill…

Hyne… It was…It was…

"Edea…"

"What was that, Zell?"

Oh, Hyne… This couldn't be happening… It was impossible, but it all made perfect sense. Of course _she_ would be the Sorceress; she hadn't passed her powers onto me yet. And Seifer… Seifer… What was he…?

"Hell, I don't know why I'm telling you this…but… I've always wanted to be a Sorceress' Knight."

Was that… Had that been his 'unfinished business' with the Sorceress?

"Oh, no! Seifer's fighting Squall! We've gotta go stop them, Quistis!"

"You're right, Selphie, let's hurry."

Yeah… Yeah, that's what he had gone to do. He left to become her Sorceress. Then…did that mean… Had he never intended to help me? Why… Why did that hurt so much more than knowing that my enemy was the one woman I might have considered my mother?

"Zell? Zell, come on! We've got to hurry!"

"Zell? What's wrong?"

I couldn't tear my eyes from them. Squall and Seifer were facing each other down, tearing at each other with the slick razor edges of their blades. Seifer was losing; he didn't know it yet, but he was gonna lose. And Edea…Edea merely stood by…watching with a simple little smile on her face.

Seifer…Seifer was fighting for her…And all she was doing was watching him lose, watching him get hurt.

That's not how Sorceresses were supposed to treat their Knights.

I felt suddenly very inexplicably angry. The confusion, the utter gnawing hurt I felt, were merely eclipsed by bitter anger.

I don't know why this grasped me; maybe I was just angry because of how unfair everything was, maybe because I was…jealous… I don't know… Whatever the reason, I was angry, and the emotion was strong enough to overpower everything else I was feeling.

I wanted to go down there.

"Zell? What is it? What's wrong?"

I wanted to confront Seifer. Confront Edea.

I had so much I wanted to know. So many questions I wanted answered. And it just wasn't fair, that things should turn out this way. It wasn't fucking _fair_.

I was trembling, gripping the edge of the window so tight that the roughly cut metal was pressing harshly through my gloves. But I couldn't let go; I couldn't tear my eyes away.

I couldn't stop my Power from flaring up, surging invisibly through my veins.

She looked up, her golden eyes narrowing as they captured mine.

My breath caught in my throat, my heart pounded in my chest.

She _knew_.

"We have to get out of here," I said it, not tearing my eyes away from those golden irises.

"Zell? What do you mean?"

"She knows…" Hyne… "We have to leave," I stumbled away from the window, rubbing my sore palms, "Now." Then I spun and headed for the ladder, grasping the cool metal of its sides. I started to lower myself down but Quistis grabbed a hold of my shoulder, digging in her nails.

"Zell," she said, her voice holding the no-nonsense tone I had become familiar with, "Tell me what's going on _right now_."

I turned my head slowly, gazing directly into her eyes. A strange expression flickered across her face, but it was gone in an instant, replaced immediately by worry. "She saw me," she knows what I am, "If we don't hurry, there will be soldiers up here in an instant." Though I had said everything in a calm, reasonable voice, I was sure she picked up on my worry, on just how fucking _unhinged_ I was. But I was beyond caring; whether I blew my cover or not, it was too late now. And besides, what did it really matter? I had trusted Seifer, done what he said in blind faith, but evidently, he hadn't trusted me. Did I really have to keep pretending now?

"Alright, Zell," Quistis nodded, and her grip loosened on my arm. She gave me one last questioning look before turning back to Selphie. "Hurry Selphie, we've gotta get out of here."

I turned away from them again and continued with my descent. Soon, I had reached the bottom and stepped away from the ladder, looking up to see what the others' progress was. Quistis made it down mere seconds after me, but Selphie took a little longer. When we were all on the bottom floor, I moved quickly to the door, wrapped my fingers around the handle, and pulled down, pushing outwards. The door slid open and I started to step out—

—only to collapse onto the hard surface of the pavement when the butt of a rifle slammed against the side of my face. I looked up, past the smug face of the man who had hit me, past Squall, who fell backwards off the end of the float, three daggers of ice impaled in his chest, past the Sorceress, who watched him fall with that same damned smile on her face, past Rinoa, past Irvine…

I was only vaguely aware of Selphie and Quistis' exclamations of protest, of the soldier in front of me, who was lifting his rifle to strike again. Instead, I fixed my eyes on Seifer, and watched him as he watched me bleed on the concrete. I watched him right up until the moment the soldier slammed the butt of his rifle against the back of my head, and then I watched only the blackness and the specks of odd light as they passed behind my eyes…

…

[End Disc One]

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[Please insert Disc Two]

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	10. Jailed

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[Author's Notes: Okies, the chapter's late again, and I'm sorry about that, but I have an almost-excuse this time: School's started. That means new chapters are going to be very few for a while. Things should get back to normal eventually, I've just gotta get used to being in school again and having significantly less free time. So anyway, I've got bunches of stuff to mention this time... First is that I really don't like the way this chapter turned out; but after four drafts, I figured this was as good as it was gonna get. It still seems a bit disjointed to me...but it's okay...

Also, some very confusing things happen in this chapter. One, my little thought-speechy marks for the Brothers were magically taken away, and thus I have used something different. Secondly, the Freaky Bold Voice makes its first appearance in this chapter. It'll get explained later, though I imagine most of you could figure out what it is. Thirdly, though this isn't very confusing, it's important: Not much happens plotwise. At the end, things start to pick up, but until then, the fic remains pretty canon. (As canon as it can get...) And, for the sake of less confusion, chapter ten starts out with AU-Zell and moves from there.

Now to reviews... Thanks go to Tainted Halo, ManicAlpha, Seifer/Zell lover, Suke-san, Obi, wasabi-sama, and Chandrakan. I also wanted to address some of you guys' reviews personally, but was far too lazy to do it through email and thus...I'm replying here:

To Seifer/Zell lover: No, I don't mind requests, so long as they're not too big. They actually give me a bit of direction. :) Anyway, There's another small CanonZell-AUSeif moment in this chapter for you. Enjoy. ;)

Obi: Thanks. :) My summer was pretty good actually, until school started. How was yours?

Everyone: Seif/Zell goodness is coming soon! I promise! I just have to get some of the big/tragic plot-thingies out of the way first. I'm gonna try to scatter tidbits here and there, so hopefully that'll be enough for a while.

And I'm gonna shut up now. Enjoy the chapter. ::slinks away::]

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**Succession of Witches**  
Chapter Ten—Jailed

* * *

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**[Disc Two : Loading]**

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I guess…when everything else was going wrong, it was stupid of me to think that things might have changed, that my luck might have changed.

_{DON'T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF. IT'S GOOD TO BE OPTIMISTIC.}_

But then again, I've always been really bad about underestimating things. For instance, take the Sorceress portal; what a mess I made of that.

_{zell…}_

I guess Seifer was right, I really don't think things through.

Heh. It's funny, I can't even remember which one said that anymore.

But does it even matter? I guess it should, but when it comes right down to it…

_{ZELL…WHY WON'T YOU SPEAK TO US?}_

…it doesn't. I'm not going to see my Knight ever again…

_{ZELL, PLEASE…} _

…and this world's Seifer betrayed me, so…

So…

…it doesn't matter. _He_ doesn't matter. And Edea…

She doesn't matter either.

This isn't my world, and even if it wasn't, she's not my responsibility. She's not my…

_{sacred, give it a rest; he's not gonna talk to you.}_

…not my… Hyne, I can't concentrate… There's too much…too much…to focus on…and…

…my head hurts…

And it's cold… Something hard is pressing against my face but I…

…I don't wanna open my eyes…

**_Are you afraid?_**

Yes…

Yeah, I'm afraid. Afraid of what I'm gonna see.

_**But how will you ever know if you don't wake up?**_

Maybe I don't want to know…

_{get out.} _

_**Yes you do. Don't lie to me.**_

I…

_{GET OUT NOW!}_

I don't…

"Zell!"

I opened my eyes, blinking through the bad light. Selphie's face filled my fogged vision; she was looking at me sideways, her features creased with worry, and her brown hair hung down, brushing the floor. "Zell?" she repeated, her voice lacking the note of urgency it had held before.

I attempted to get my eyes to focus; my head was still spinning, the echoes of strange voices reverberated between my ears. "Selphie? What is it? What's wrong?" my throat was dry and my voice scratched horribly, coming out as a crackle of static. It hurt to move much, even to speak, so I stopped there, keeping my sore cheek to the cold floor.

At the sound of my voice, Selphie visibly relaxed a bit, leaning up and scooting around so she wouldn't have to look at me upside down. "You were speaking in your sleep," she said, her hands fisted and placed in her lap. Her knuckles were white like skinless bone. "You were having a nightmare," she added.

I wanted to ask her what I had said, but I was half-afraid of the answer. Instead, I braced myself and tried to rise, placing all my weight on my arms and pushing up from there. My head spun terribly, and it took me a few minutes before I could see clearly again. By that time, Selphie had grasped my shoulders and leaned me against her. I was only too willing to just lay my head on her shoulder, close my eyes, and wait for the pain to subside.

"They took Rinoa," she whispered, her voice heavy. "I thought," she stopped, pressing her face into my hair. Her lips rested just by my ear and her breath tickled as she whispered, "I thought you might not wake up… You were asleep for a long time."

I tried to turn my head, to look her in the eyes, but my vision faded out again and I froze up, breathing deeply in and out. "Where are we? How long have we been here?"

I remembered a soldier, a gun, and a smile I had loved as a child.

I didn't want to remember.

"We're in prison," Quistis answered for her, "In Galbadia. D-District, I imagine. I'd say we've been here about two nights. We were imprisoned in Deling another night before they brought us here. They just came for Rinoa a few hours ago. We don't know where Squall is being kept, or if he's even still alive."

"He's still alive…" Selphie murmured, her voice so quiet even I almost missed it.

"We haven't heard or seen anything from the sniper, Kinneas, since we were captured. Rinoa said he wasn't caught when she was."

More bad news… What was I supposed to do with this? What did Quistis expect me to do?

"What's worse," the woman continued, speaking as if she was merely ticking off a grocery list, "The prison has a magic shield in place. We cannot draw, cast, or summon."

Well…that sucked.

"I tried Cure on you earlier," Selphie told me, "It didn't help at all."

"That's okay," I whispered, bringing a tentative hand up to my cheek. My chilled fingers stuck in a warm mess of congealed blood. As I pulled them away from my cheek, a mass of the red goo came with them. I wiped the mess on my shorts and brought my fingers back up to try and locate the source of the blood. It was a gash, maybe about two inches long, that began as a shallow cut on my cheekbone but became something pretty damn close to a hole once it reached the hollow beneath. The wound was still bleeding, though not excessively, and stung horribly while I mapped it out with my fingers.

"You'll get an infection if you're not careful," Quistis informed me.

I ignored her, instead moving my fingers up to my scalp. I brushed them through mats of hair stuck together with dried blood until I found another gash. This one was directly on the back of my head, if a little deeper on the left side. It appeared to have bled more, but then all head wounds did. Compared do the mess on my cheek, it was a scratch.

A quick look-over of my body revealed I had no more major injuries. My knees were pretty scratched up, probably from when I dropped after the soldier hit me, and I had a curious bruise on the inside of my arm just above my elbow. It was a sickly green-brown color but thankfully not too big. It didn't even hurt much when I pressed it experimentally.

As soon as I was finished checking over my body, I looked back to Selphie. "Did you guys get hurt?" I asked, trying to locate Quistis without turning my head much.

"No, not really. Rinoa had a pretty bad cut on her palm, but it didn't hurt her much." Selphie shrugged. "You and Squall got the worst of it. I think they don't like to hit girls."

I heard dulled footsteps and then Quistis was squatting down in front of me, her eyes narrowed as she gazed into mine. "Do you think you'll be okay?" she asked.

Well, not really, but… "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine in a minute. My head's still a little messed up, but it's not too bad." And as I said it, it became true. The fuzzy ache that had echoed in the back of my head since I'd woken up dissipated in mere seconds, and my strangely clouded vision cleared. My eyes focused and even a bit of the stiffness I was feeling went away.

_{sorry we couldn't do more.}_

_{WE PROMISED TO HELP YOU, ZELL. REMEMBER THAT WE'RE STILL THERE FOR YOU.} _

_Thanks._

_{don't mention it.} _

"Selphie," I said, "Can you help me get up?"

"Okay, Zell." And the little brunette stood up behind me, looping her arms under mine and lifting as I pushed up with my feet. Quistis steadied me once Selphie let go, and then I was standing on my own, feeling how entirely unused the muscles in my legs felt.

Once I was positive I wouldn't topple over with the slightest movement, I turned to Quistis. "So, what do we do now?"

* * *

I sat outside Martine's office, the leg of my baggy shorts rolled up and a black ink pen I stole from the yellow jeep pinched between my fingers. From my knee to mid-thigh, spiraling black designs littered my skin. They looked almost like flames, like lightning, like the mark on my left cheek.

I had been drawing them for the past fifteen minutes.

The skin of my leg was pink and scratched where the sharp tip of the pen cut through the very first few layers of epidermis. I had started out just drawing the outlines of the twisting shapes, but then I had filled up my living canvas and had to stave off my boredom by filling in the shapes. Now that even that was almost complete, I was running out of things to keep myself occupied with.

I suppose I could have just slipped into Martine's office, but why should I have to sit through another meeting with that bozo when I could pretend to be asleep out here?

See, sometime after we dropped Deling off at his office in his city, I had dozed off, only to be plagued by another one of those weird-ass dreams. I was Ward again, but instead of doing anything even remotely interesting, I had been mopping floors in some depressing-as-hell place. I guess I was out for a pretty long time, because by the time I woke up, I was sitting outside Martine's office with Seifer, drooling all over his arm.

As is the case whenever I first wake up, I lay still and kept my eyes closed, waiting for every bit of me to come back into focus. The arm I had been drooling on was bare, as Seifer had wrapped me up in his trench coat (I guess he remembered I didn't like the cold.) His skin stuck to my saliva-wet lips and I wanted more than anything to wipe off the drool.

But I didn't. I kept still. I pretended to be asleep.

I think Seifer had dozed off too, because when Irvine poked his head out to call us in, Seifer responded sluggishly, telling the SeeD that we'd be in in a minute. Then he had carefully lifted my head off his arm, placed it instead on the arm of the chair, and wrapped his coat more tightly around me. As he walked by me, he brushed my hair out of my eyes and ran his fingers lightly down my shoulder.

For minutes after that, I had sat, still feeling ghost-traces of his fingertips as my body broke out in goosebumps.

Now he had been gone for almost twenty minutes, and my leg was covered in black designs. His jacket hung from me like a suit of too-big skin. The sleeves were far too long and I had rolled them up into lumpy bunches to prevent them from being dragged through the wet ink. As a result, my wrist and fingers were covered in odd blue-black splotches that occasionally smudged the marks on my leg.

I was trying my best not to think about anything, to keep my mind blank. To an extent, I was succeeding. But snippets of thought always surfaced in my mind whenever I'd forget that I was trying not to think.

For the most part, I'd think about Seifer, and how, in my world, he would never have wrapped me in his own coat to keep me warm; the thought would never have crossed his mind. And, for some inexplicable reason, this bothered me.

Seifer wasn't supposed to be nice, he wasn't supposed to be understanding. At first, it was hard for me to think of them as two different people, but now… Now I could really see how different they were.

And Hyne, that bothered me.

I didn't know why, but it did. And the fact that I didn't know why it bothered me bothered me.

And that's as far as my Seifer-thoughts would get before I'd remind myself to _not think_ and continue doodling on my leg.

But then, my mind would start to wander again and…

I'd think about how I was going to get home; how much I wanted to get home. Things were too confusing here.

But really, those thoughts never progressed very far, because I'd remember that I didn't have a _clue_ as to how I was going to get home.

And then that, too, led back to me drawing on my leg.

So here I was, bored out of my mind and unwilling to think too long on any singular thing. My pen was almost empty and I was sick of doodling anyway. But I just didn't feel like dealing with Martine right now.

I sighed heavily, closing my eyes. I wished I were tired enough to fall back asleep, but my little catnap had, unfortunately, refreshed me. I should have been bone-weary, especially after junctioning a new GF. But then again, that might be the reason I didn't feel that tired. Maybe the brothers were using their powers to keep my body awake and functioning.

_{you've got it, kid.} _

I ignored the voice, instead huffing in irritation and leaning forward in the chair, pulling Seifer's trench coat tight around me and crossing my arms over my chest. I felt the tattered ends of it tickle my calves and I slid my legs forward; my sneakers squeaked against the linoleum.

Without really thinking about it, I began rocking, focusing on a nonexistent something in front of me. I told myself that I'd only wait a few more minutes, and then I'd go in.

Just a few more minutes…

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with this, Zell? Out of all of us, you may be the best able to defend yourself, but you're still wounded," Quistis was scrutinizing me with her same calculating expression. Her voice was strong, and only the slightest bit of uncertainty betrayed that she was worried.

Actually, I really didn't want to be moving at all, but it had been my idea, and I was going to go through with it. Even if it killed me.

Which it probably would.

"I don't want you to go," Selphie protested, wringing her hands. "If something bad happens, we won't be able to help you."

"She's right," Quistis chimed in, "You're a strong fighter, Zell, and I hate to say it, but this might be too much for you. You weren't even able to stand up until just a few minutes ago."

"I'll be fine," I told them for what had to be the twenty-third time. "I won't attract any unnecessary attention. I'll just get your weapons and head right back."

"You'll wait for us before you try to find Irvine and Squall?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Quistis nodded; I had won her over. Now all I had to do was convince Selphie I'd come back alive. Too bad I couldn't even convince myself…

"Selphie," I started, turning.

She beat me to the punch. "You know I don't want you to go, but I know you have to go. Just promise me, Zell, _promise me_, that you'll come back okay. As long as you promise me, I can wait."

I stared into her bright green eyes, hoping that what I thought I saw wasn't tears. "I promise," I told her. She nodded, and in an effort to make her smile I said, "Hey, it's not like I wander around getting my ass kicked _all _the time," and then I winked, and Selphie laughed, a short, almost-bark of a laugh, and threw her arms around my waist. I closed my eyes and rubbed my hand in a circle on her back. The top of her hair tickled my nose and I moved my head so that my right cheek, the uninjured one, rested against her forehead. "I'll be okay, Selphie. Just don't cry, alright?"

She nodded and slowly pulled away, sniffing just once before she lifted her eyes to mine and smiled. "Good luck," she said.

"Thanks." I smiled at her, then turned to Quistis and nodded a quick goodbye. "You two be good while I'm gone," I said before I turned my back on them and faced the locked door. I heard their shoes scrape against the grated floor as they lowered themselves to the ground. I turned around to peek one last time to make sure they appeared sick before cupping my hands around my mouth and belting out a sharp "Help!"

I waited a few seconds before I called out again, this time adding, "It's the women! I think they might have been bitten by a snake!"

Okay, so it might not have been the most _plausible_ excuse I could come up with, but it was all I could concoct on short notice. Thankfully, our guard was just thickheaded enough to fall for it. I heard the distinct metallic clink of keys in the lock, and then the door swung open, revealing a frazzled man in the typical blue Galbadian uniform.

"What is it? What happened?" he demanded, stuffing the keys back into his pocket and striding forth into the cell.

It was only too easy to slam my fist into his stomach, drawing on Sacred and Minotaur's powers. It was a weird sensation, feeling someone else strike through me like that, almost as if I was being pulled by invisible strings, stitched into my skin. The guard let out a pained grunt and slid forward. I pulled my fist back and he fell against me. I pushed him off and he thudded against the hard floor, moaning and rolling over onto his side, clutching at his stomach.

_Thank you._

_{he won't be the last.} _

_{YEAH, ZELL, KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN.} _

Right, right. I sucked in a deep breath of air, stepped over the writhing guard, and strode into the hall. It was circular in design, and littered with gray metal doors. There were two sets of stairs, one leading up and the other down. I looked back and forth, blinking against the brighter light.

_Alright guys, which way?_

_{how am I supposed to know?} _

_{TRY UP FIRST, ZELL, THAT WAY, IF YOU'RE WRONG, EVERYTHING WILL BE DOWNHILL FROM THERE.} _

_{oh, for the love of…} _

Well, I guess Sacred's reasoning was better than none…

_Alright, then we're going up._

_{i can't believe you're going along with this.} _

Squaring my shoulders and pretending like my head didn't hurt so damn bad, I made for the stairs, my feet making loud metallic claps on the grated floor. Once I reached the top, it was only too easy to locate the weapons: A twin pair of blue guards hovered over them, swinging around Squall's gunblade like it was a streamer.

I approached the two, careful not to make a noise until I was right behind them, then I yelled out, "HEY!" as loud as I possibly could. The guards jumped, spinning around in alarm. I let the brothers take over from there.

Sacred knocked one of the men to the ground with a single punch to the chin; then Minotaur spun me around, raising my arm just enough to hit the other guy in the neck with my elbow. With the first man down, all it took was another punch to the head and then the second guard thudded down to join him.

I stood over the two men, rubbing my knuckles and examining the weapons; they were all there, except for Rinoa's and Irvine's. I wasn't sure whether this was good or not, but at least it meant I had less to carry. Squall's weapon was so heavy, I was going to have to carry it with both my hands. That left two weapons unaccounted for. Frowning, I placed Squall's gunblade back on the floor and grabbed up Quistis' whip. I quickly decided it wouldn't be that hard to tie it around my waist and quickly did so, immediately bending down to grab Selphie's nunchaku. I draped it around my neck and once again picked up the gunblade. I'd be in something of a mess if I was attacked again, but at least this was the easiest way to tote these things.

The trip back to the girls' cell took far longer than the trip to the weapons, even though they were both the same distance. Squall's gunblade weighed me down the most, and I began to seriously wonder if he was even less human than I was. How could he manage this thing? He whipped it around like it was made of cardboard. Maybe it was just another mystery of life, for which I would never have an answer.

But that was okay, I didn't have answers for lots of things.

Like why Odine's breath always smelled like garlic. That was one thing that continued to baffle me. I never saw the man eat garlic, and yet, he always reeked of it. Had he had some tragic accident when he was child? Maybe he just had bizarre tastes in cologne…

My thoughts died down as I reached the door to the cell. I had closed it again so as to not arouse suspicion, but now I had the little problem of re-opening it. After a little rearranging of the weapons, I managed to get the thing opened. Then I had to go back for the weapons, dragging them behind me as I kicked the door closed.

The weapons were handed out, and once Sacred and Minotaur took control of my body again, using their own strength to heft Squall's gunblade over my shoulder, we were good to go.

* * *

I yawned and stretched, reaching upwards with my hands till my back and shoulders issued a round of sickening pops. Then I twisted my head to the right till I heard another pop, and then again to the left. After this, I cracked my knuckles, doing it in a way that each joint popped one after the other, creating a little cascading effect. I thought it sounded neat, the man sitting next to me however…

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Just stop there," Irvine said, his upper lip curling in an expression of disgust. "Don't pop anything else while I'm sitting here or I'm gonna…" he trailed off, trying to decide just what was coming after that 'gonna.'

I shrugged, sitting back in the chair. I didn't want to annoy Irvine so much that he'd leave me alone again, and so I complied. Had we been anywhere else, I would have shown him the neat noise my ankles could make if I twisted them in just the right way…

"Gonna…" Irvine still searched for his word, apparently not noticing that I had ceased the joint-popping.

"So how long are we gonna have to wait out here?" I asked him, interrupting.

Irvine paused in his pondering long enough to answer, "They were still fighting about Timber the last time I checked on them. Snap and Seifer wanted to send a team more acquainted with the city, but Martine wanted us to go." Irvine shrugged. "When it comes down to it, we're just gonna have to do what Martine says. I don't see the use in arguing over it."

"I don't know," I mumbled, sinking even farther into my seat, "Maybe they'll irritate Martine so much he'll just self-combobulate."

"You mean spontaneously combust?"

I blinked. What had I said? "Yeah, whatever."

Irvine chuckled, leaning back and drawing his hat down over his eyes. "Y'know, you're really not what I thought a Sorceress would be like."

"You mean I'm not a woman?"

Irvine laughed harder. "No, I mean," he circled his hand in front of him, as if the motion would bring forth the words he was searching for. He sure seemed to have a hard time expressing himself… Maybe he just needed one of those thesar…thesauruses…thingies… "I mean you're not stuffy…or anythin'." He finished at last.

"Uhm…Thanks?"

Irvine clapped his hand on my shoulder, smiling amiably. "Welcome."

After that, we both lapsed into silence; him awkwardly holding his hand on my shoulder while I stared at it like it was a dead fish. It wasn't that it really bothered me that much, human contact never really did, but I didn't have anything else to look at, and Irvine didn't look like he planned on moving it so…

"Irvine!" Martine's door slammed open against the wall, causing both me and Irvine to jump. Snap stomped out the headmaster's office, his face a nice shade of angry red. He looked from me to the cowboy and back again. He finally decided he was going to address Irvine and turned to face him, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his foot on the floor. Irvine flashed him a nervous smile and leaned as far back as he could, sinking even lower in his seat than I was.

"Yeah, Snap?" he ventured at last.

"Get your ass up, Irvine! Martine wants us in Timber by tomorrow morning. We have to leave _tonight_."

I guess Martine didn't implode with rage after all…

"Tonight?" Irvine asked incredulously. "How the hell does he expect us to get there in time? It's only about an hour away from dawn _now."_

Snap's eyes flicked quickly to me, scrutinizing me in the same way Instructor Trepe used to while she was waiting for me to answer a question. And, as I usually would after Trepe would ask me said question, I blinked stupidly at Snap, waiting for him to give me a hint about what I was supposed to say.

"Martine wants Zell to teleport us to Timber."

"He _what?!"_ I twisted around in my chair, staring at Seifer, who had just emerged from Martine's office, like he had sprouted and extra head. "I can't do that!"

Seifer's eyes narrowed, flicking pointedly to Snap and Irvine. But I was beyond noticing; I was sick of waiting and sick of Martine and sick of pretending I had super-voodoo-powers or whatever the hell I was supposed to have.

"What do you mean you can't?" Snap asked, dropping his arms to his sides.

"I mean I _can't_! I can't—" Seifer clamped his hand down over my mouth, effectively silencing the blunder I was in the middle of making.

Irvine rose from his seat, and him and Snap fixed us with suspicious glances while I struggled against Seifer's gloved muzzle. "He's tired," Seifer tried, "He doesn't know what he's saying.

The SeeDs weren't buying it. Irvine took a step closer. "What was he about to say, Almasy?"

"I told you," Seifer growled, "He _doesn't know what he's saying_."

"I think he knows, alright," Snap said. "Now let him go."

Seifer's grip on me tightened, and he backed the both of us up. The light went out in Martine's office, indicating the bastard was going to bed. I stopped struggling so much and turned back to the SeeDs. I didn't know if I was included in their suspicions, or if those looks were directed purely at Seifer, but I had to try to calm them down somehow. I managed to catch Irvine's eyes with my own, and then tried my best to shake my head. Whatever message he got out of that caused him to pause. He held out his arm to stop Snap, and then he addressed Seifer, "Just let him speak, Seifer. Whatever he says, we'll listen to both your side and his."

I tried to crane my neck to look up at Seifer, but he wouldn't let me move any further, and all I could do was stare straight ahead. But for whatever reason, I felt him relax behind me, and I figured that was a good sign.

Slowly, as if he wasn't sure of his decision yet, Seifer removed his hand from my mouth, though he kept a good grip on my shoulders. Maybe he was afraid I'd make a break for it.

Irvine and Snap leaned closer, waiting for my explanation. I tried once again to see Seifer's face, to get some hint from him, but his features were cast in stone; his lips a thin line, his eyes staring straight. I looked back to the SeeDs, took a deep breath…

"I'm not the Sorceress."


	11. Wounded

[Author's Notes: At long last, I bring you...chapter eleven! Woo. I'm gonna try to get to work on the next installment asap. But until then, I have some stuff to ramble about... First is how completely un-humorous this chapter is. There are maybe...three funny sentences...and that's it. The rest is pile after pile of angst. And I'm sorry...but my muse has just been depressed lately and thus is my writing affected. ::le sigh::

Also, this chapter is overflowing with the gore/blood/pain. And that is also not my fault. I blame _Fight Club_, which I just finished reading (and later seeing). There is much AU-Zell abusing. (Sorries!) And then there is the cliffhanger at the end...which almost everyone of you has complained about... Sorry for that too, I can't seem to stop writing the little bastards. (They _are_ effective writing devices, though.)

And lastly, as much as I'd like to respond to every single review I got (I love them all so much! Thanks uber-uber-much, guys!) I don't want my author's notes to be as long as the story. Thus am I going to try and limit this... (Key word being 'try.')

First, to Insignificance: As of now, I _am_ planning to go with the matching world pairings. This is subject to change though, but for now, let's just go with that. :)

Left Sock: I'm sorry to say there is even more bad luck that befalls poor AU-Zell in this chappie, but I'll make up for it later. ;) Anyway, thanks for the Rinoa comment; it made me feel much better about casting her in such a bad role, lol.

And thanks to everyone else that I couldn't fit in a personal note to: Tainted Halo, Shido (the answer to your question is _soon_), nom de plume, Bloodhazard, Suke-san, Obi (good luck with your studying! hope it doesn't suck too much. ;p), Rinoa, wasabi-sama, Neechi (who reviewed all ten chapters in a row!! mucho thanks), xWHRobynx, pikinanou, Nanani, and Puppet in the Corner. You guys are all so great!! I love you bunches!

Now to the fic...Sorry for the general longness/pointlessness of this... Enjoy...]

* * *

****

**Succession of Witches**  
Chapter Eleven—Wounded

* * *

I was hungry; I had the most undeniable lust for popcorn. Hot-from-the-microwave bagged popcorn with melted butter poured all over it. And parmesan…White spaghetti-topping parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. So bad for your heart, but so damn good. I was practically drooling just thinking about it.

"Hyne, Almasy, just how long were you planning on keeping this goddamned little _secret_?!"

Yes…Popcorn…

"Until your decoy screwed up and one of us got killed?!"

My stomach was twisted up in knots, and not just because I was hungry.

"Or had you planned to tell us at all? If the fake had never opened his mouth, would we have ever found out?!"

"Snap—"

"Canta, shut the fuck up."

SLAM—And Seifer was pinned to the wall, a very angry SeeD glaring into his eyes. "Do you have any idea how much you jeopardized us? Our mission? Your little farce could have cost us everything!"

Irvine stood behind them, somewhere off to the side. "Calm down, Snap, let's talk things over…"

SLAM SLAM SLAM.

Seifer was pushed into the wall again and again and—

"Well, Almasy?! Why don't we _talk things over?!"_

"Stoppit, Snap!"

SLAM SLAM.

"Where is he, Almasy? What have you done with the Sorceress?!"

"_Goddamnit, Snap!"_ And Irvine pulled the irate SeeD off of the silent Knight. Seifer sunk to the floor, his nose bruised and gushing all down his face. His neck shone with wet red.

I didn't want to be here.

"Let go _of me_, Irvine!" Snap fought the arms around him.

Irvine just barely held him back.

"You're assuming, Snap; too much assuming."

"I don't _give_ a damn!"

Seifer wiped at his nose. His glove came away covered. He reached back and rested his hand against the wall. He pushed off and left behind a perfect red handprint.

It looked like harmless finger-paint.

"Get off me, Kinneas," Snap growled, "I've gotta get Martine. We have to get a search party together…Gotta find the Sorceress…"

"Snap," Irvine hissed into his ear, "You're the one that's always telling me that I need to _think about things_. Now calm the fuck down and help me find out what's going on."

Seifer tilted back his head, holding his hand under his nose. His blood stained the collar of his shirt, glinted off his choker. He wouldn't look at me.

This was all my fault.

All my fault because I couldn't keep my fucking mouth shut.

Hyne, what I wouldn't give for a nice, empty corner and a bag of popcorn.

* * *

Because Galbadia just wouldn't let well enough alone, two more guards lay unconscious on the cold metal ground of Nameless Cell #43.

Biggs and Wedge: two guys I had never known who held a vendetta against me nonetheless.

After we left, they flipped the alarm, and we were swarmed by pissed off guards and monsters. But on the flip side, the magic barrier was down.

I had my powers back.

I could kick ass.

Instead of drawing on the Brothers as I had previously, I fell back on my own strength, powering my punches and kicks with hot jolts of pure Sorceress rage.

And Hyne, that felt very, very _nice_.

Selphie and Quistis fought beside me, lashing out at our enemies with their long-ranged attacks.

I had forgotten how good it felt to fight next to somebody, to know someone had your back. Since Seifer and I had parted ways, I had missed that. The first few times I had fought with the girls in the sewers, I hadn't trusted them enough to rely on them.

How funny it is, that Seifer, who I had trusted almost instantly, was the one to betray me.

Fuck, but thoughts like that _really_ made me want to cry.

But instead of giving into that urge, I kneed a guard in the stomach, jumping back and zapping him with a quick Thunder as soon as I was able. Quistis finished off the Wendigo that had accompanied him and we continued on, our breaths heavy and loud, hearts pounding in our ears.

We ran up and up, round and round the circular hallways. Eventually, we ran out of places to run.

Floor thirteen, unlucky number thirteen, and a single door without a number.

Inside, we found Squall. Squall who was wounded and tired, his eyes clouded and unfocussed. He looked at us, but he didn't see us. Selphie cast a Cure spell, and he stood up straight, taking his gunblade from me. His eyes kept their distant look and I knew his mind was as heavy as mine. If either of us were to fall into water, we would drown for our leaden thoughts.

As soon as Squall had recovered himself we commandeered a lift and crashed into a mounting pile of shit.

Or, Squall, Quistis, and Selphie crashed into the shit, I merely stood topside and thought over how I was going to join them. Then, mid-pondering, I was shot at. Bullets swam through the air, crashing into metal walls and eating through the lift's control panel. Sparks exploded upwards like a backwards rain, stinging my bare skin. I crouched down beneath the level of the panel, slowly creeping backwards away from the riflemen.

Too bad said riflemen were so keen on killing me; else I might have gotten away. As things were…

Bullet #1 wormed its burning, sluggy way into my shoulder, and bullet #2 grazed my calf as I stumbled up and away, bolting for the door even as a sticky trail of warmth stained my sock a deep red.

I made it through the opening, hopping down the stairs to the outside of Squall's cell. A white-hot pang tore through my shoulder and I slammed my right palm into the wound, digging my dirty fingers into the wet fabric of my T-shirt. Not sparing a glance back, I made my way for the stairs, thudding down them like a whole troop of soldiers, my footsteps sounding angry and threatening in my ears.

Every sound was pounding in my head; my blood was pounding in my head. My wounds dripped adrenaline.

I was wild, I wasn't thinking. I knew only to move, to get away, and every ounce of me dedicated itself to that task. Sacred and Minotaur begged for me to release them, my Power ached to be let loose, but I couldn't comprehend anything beyond slamming one foot to the floor, lifting it, and slamming down the second; eating up the grating with my rubber soles.

And then it was all over. On either side of me, sleek, black barrels caught me between them. I stopped right in my tracks, looking first back, then once again to the front. I was caught, alright. The only way out was down, and that would be a long, long way out.

The red-suited guard in the fore of his men smirked at me and stepped forward. "This is the end, kid," he said, and I believed him.

I lowered my arms to my sides, forgetting my wounds, forgetting that I could still fight back. All I thought was how ironic the whole damned thing was. And that simultaneously pissed me off and made me want to cry. Life just wasn't fair.

The guard sneered as he lifted his rifle, "See ya later, kid," and he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Seifer stood over the sink, splashing water into his face. Red swirled down the drain, leaving streaking stains on the white ceramic of the sink. I sat on the closed toilet seat, watching him rub the blood from his neck. Irvine was perched on the edge of the tub, his head in his hands, and Snap leaned in the doorway, looking like he'd be happy to kill us all.

"Well, Almasy," he snapped, dropping his arms to his sides and straightening up. "You gonna defend yourself? Or would you like me to save you the trouble and cart you down to Martine right now?"

Seifer gripped the edge to the sink, dripping pink-tined water all over the place. He watched the draining sink, acting as if he hadn't heard Snap at all. I rubbed at a splotch of ink on my wrist, realizing that he wasn't going to say anything in his defense. They'd merely think him crazy anyway.

But… It killed me to think he'd be punished for my blunder. I had never thought that telling the truth would screw things over so much.

"Well, Almasy? Got anything to say?"

Seifer wiped his dripping nose on the back of his hand.

I wasn't gonna let him take the fall for this. As sad as it was, he was all I had. Without Seifer, I was fucked ten times over.

"It's not his fault," I whispered, not looking away from my smudged wrist. No one said anything in response so I continued, hoping only that I was improving the situation. "Seifer…Seifer was just helping me, I…We never thought it'd matter…That it'd…endanger your mission. We were just buying time until…Until the Sorceress could be brought home." I swallowed, still unwilling to see the emotions of the other occupants of the room. "We didn't know how else to help him…We didn't know what to do. I…" I dropped my head, running my fingers through my hair and squinting my eyes closed. Why couldn't this just be a dream? Why couldn't I just wake up? I hiccoughed, quickly biting my lip to keep back stinging tears. "I don't know what else…What I would have…" I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes. Somehow…Somehow I had to get us out of this. I needed Seifer's help; I couldn't do this on my own.

I nearly jumped right out of my skin when a heavy hand cupped around my shoulder. I pulled my hands from my eyes, peering up through my loose bangs. Irvine offered me a weak smile, softly squeezing my shoulder. "It's okay," he said. I swallowed nervously, flicking my eyes quickly to Seifer and Snap. Seifer still stared blankly into the sink, and Snap merely scowled down at the floor. "It's okay," Irvine repeated. "Jus' tell us what happened."

"I can't," I whispered, looking away from his kind eyes.

"Why can't you?"

I merely shook my head.

"Tell him," Seifer's rough voice cut through the mounting silence. He gazed at me from under the hanging strands of his blonde hair. Then, softer, "It doesn't matter anymore. Just tell them."

I sighed, turning once again to Irvine, who watched me worriedly. "My name is Zell Dincht, and I'm a SeeD…"

* * *

The bullet never reached me. No one dropped down from the sky to save me; I didn't stop the thing with my mind. The fact was, the guard's aim was just really, really bad. It was that one little scrap of luck that allowed me the time to make my break for the sliver of freedom allotted me. I bolted for the missing center of the floor, vaulting up and over the rim, a hail of bullets following my descent.

I was a good twelve floors up, and if I didn't think of something, I was gonna look a lot less like myself and a lot more like a puddle.

First, I grappled for the protruding edges to the floors, when I missed a good three of them, another idea struck me, and I mentally flipped through my available spells. I found one, juiced it up with Sorceress power, and cast it on myself.

I felt the effects immediately; my back began to prickle all over, as if it was being traced with thousands of tiny needles. Then a sudden gust of air whipped about me and twin wings of lights burst from my shoulder blades and caught me mid-air. I quickly reached out for the edge of the closest floor, gripping my fingers round it tightly and lifting myself up and over.

The Float spell wanted to keep me aloft a while longer, but the current circumstances prevented that. Guards across the gap on whatever level I had landed on opened fire, pelting the divider next to me with metal slugs. I ducked down and covered my head with my arms, mentally calculating how long it'd take the guards to circle round and trap me again. I had seconds, minutes if I was lucky, to think of my next move. Should I make a break for it? Try to fight the bastards? My shoulder told me that might not be such a good idea…

But I couldn't just sit here, waiting…

Hell.

I could hear how close the guards had gotten; their gunfire grew louder and louder, and their aim became more accurate; too damn accurate for my tastes.

I tried inching forward a bit; hoping I might eventually reach the stairs. Unfortunately, the guards had gotten close enough to register that movement, and they shifted their line of fire to block my exit.

I cursed loudly, and curled as small as possible against the divider. The noise was terrible; that shrieking cry of metal striking metal. I couldn't stand it. The thought crossed my mind that all it would take to end it would be to simply stand, to let the stinging metal slugs catch me and carry me up, up…until pain no longer touched me.

For a moment, I seriously considered it, and then I shoved the thought from my mind and scraped for an alternative. There had to be something better…there had to be more for me than just this; I couldn't believe otherwise.

Then, when things seemed the most hopeless, my unsaid prayers were answered, and the rain of bullets stopped; the ungodly noise stopped. I could hear my ragged breaths, the hard metal echoes of the gunfire. I heard the pounding of my heartbeat, and how impossibly loud it seemed suddenly.

And then I heard my name, whispered softly at first, and then louder, more urgently. I looked up, dropping my arms into my lap. Squall leaned over me, his dead-looking eyes betraying just a trace of worry. I grinned stupidly at him, so relived suddenly that I felt as if every burden had been lifted. I felt so light I wondered why I wasn't floating.

I was alive.

Hyne, that was such a wonderful feeling.

Squall offered me his hand and helped me to my feet. "You okay?" he asked, giving me the once-over. His eyes caught the red stains on my shirt and sock and his brows furrowed. "Do you need me to Cure you?"

I hadn't given my wounds that much thought up until this point; I had had more pressing matters to devote my attention to. "Not yet," I told him. "I think the bullet might still be in my shoulder."

Squall nodded, "You think you can get it?"

I winced, "I'd rather not."

"I'll do it then." And then Squall offered me his arm and I took it automatically; too used to being offered an escort.

We were just about to the stairs when Quistis and Selphie emerged from the lower floor, huffing and puffing. The two smiled when they saw us. "Well, Squall," Quistis teased, "You sure did hurry up here. Is Zell that important to you?"

Selphie giggled but Squall merely snorted, sitting me down at the foot of the stairs. "Do either of you have anything I can use as tweezers?" he asked the girls, tugging lightly at the stained cloth around my wound. I grimaced at the bizarre feeling; it was somewhere between being ticklish, and hurting.

Both answered in the negative, but wandered closer to get a look at what Squall was doing. Said SeeD seemed to be having a problem with my shirt; his brows furrowed as he plucked at it. "Alright," he whispered at last, leaning back on his heels. "Zell, take off your shirt."

I was taken off-guard, but did what he said, muttering a few choice words as the movement stretched my already torn shoulder. I dropped the shirt at my feet, looking back up to Squall for further instructions. He gave me none; instead leaning forward and pressing harshly around the bullet wound. I watched the blood bubble up and seep down my chest; I shivered at the ticklish feeling.

"Quistis, find me something I can use to wipe this."

The woman nodded and started digging around in her skirt pockets. Eventually, she secured a simple white handkerchief and brought it forward. Squall draped it across his knee and quickly peeled off his gloves, laying them on the step next to me. Then he wrapped the two first fingers of his right hand in the handkerchief and set to work wiping at the area around the wound. He gripped my shoulder with his left hand, his fingers digging into my pale skin. I bit my lip and tried to ignore the discomfort.

As soon as Squall was finished cleaning the wound, he gave me the handkerchief to hold onto and leaned forward, staring into my eyes. His voice was cold and hard as he said, "This is going to hurt." Then, without much warning other than that, he slammed me back against the stairs, pressed his knee against my stomach to hold me down, and dug his thumb and index finger into my open wound.

My head jerked back, my mouth open wide as I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut even as pain blinded my vision. I could feel Squall stretching the wound as he felt around for the bullet; feel his fingers as he lost his grip and they slid out of me…

I was crying openly, grabbing at Squall's arm to try and push him off me; to get him away and make him stop hurting me. Squall stopped all my struggles by simply bearing down on me with his knee. I gasped for breath and dug my fingers into his upper thigh, but I stopped trying to push him off. Sensing this, he lifted back a bit, though I still couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted to.

"I've almost got it, Zell," he whispered, his voice just managing to get through my broken sobs.

I made an effort to nod, but only ended up hissing sharply as Squall thrust his fingers deep into my shoulder. I felt him fumble around for a minute before he pulled his fingers out altogether. He exhaled deeply, removing his knee from my stomach and falling backwards onto his ass.

I tried to get control of myself, to still the shaking of my body and quiet my pitiful-sounding sobs. I slumped forward, focusing my eyes on Squall. He was watching me emotionlessly. Then he lifted up his bloody hand, pinching the black, gore-covered bullet between his thumb and index finger. I gawked at him for a while, not quite able to comprehend all that had just happened.

With his other hand, Squall suddenly leaned forward and grabbed my wrist, forcing my hand open. He placed the bullet in my palm, stood up, wiping his hands on his pants, and replaced his gloves. I looked down at the little piece of metal in my palm. It was funny, but it seemed so small; not at all like what I was expecting.

"Selphie, can you Cure him?" Squall asked, walking over to lean against the divider.

Selphie nodded and jogged up me, squatting down right in front of me. "You okay?" she asked. "You look wiped out."

I grinned weakly, "Yeah, Selphie. I feel like shit."

Selphie wrinkled her nose. "Well, then I should fix that right away." And then I was sighing happily as the spell worked its way through me, fusing back together the torn bits of my body.

"Thanks," I told her, stretching my now-whole shoulder. I sighted my crumpled T-shirt and slid it back on, trying my best to ignore that cold wet splotches of blood. Then I lifted my eyes to Squall, who merely shrugged and looked away. Alrighty then…

I rubbed most of the blood from the bullet on my shorts before sliding it in my pocket, intending to keep it as a sort of souvenir. Then I got to my feet and started forward. I didn't get two feet before we were bombarded with gunfire once again. All four of us fell to our knees on the ground, crawling over to the divider, which we leaned up against, each of us trying to sight an easy way out.

Our search was brought to a quick halt, however, when a second stream of gunfire opposed the first. I glanced up to the source, watching the previously MIA sniper, Kinneas, crouched at the top of the stairs and firing, one round at a time, at the guards. After a few reloads, the guards backed off and Irvine slowly descended the stairs. He grinned smugly, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and tipping his hat at us. He was only about halfway down before Rinoa popped up behind him and kicked him squarely in the ass. Poor Kinneas, who wasn't expecting _that_ at all, lost his balance and tumbled down the rest of the way, landing in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.

She grinned and offered a little wave. "Hey, guys."


	12. Movin'

((Author's Notes: Okies, it's another late chapter... But it's a longer, filled with more humor and random almost-slash moments chapter. Which I'm hoping is a good thing... ::crosses fingers:: At any rate, I have a few things to mention... First, I wanna thank my beloved friend, Angela, who read through this chapter (before it was even finished, and without having read the first 11 chapters or ever having played the game) and helped me fix my errors in spelling and grammar (and to inform me of all the places I could have inserted random yaoi...). She was a really big help to me, as I really really hate leaving my writing unedited. It irks the hell outta me. But anyway, she's great. :) Anyway, my Brothers-speak-markies were, _once again, _taken away. So I had to change them. Again. Also, I am going to mention how shaky I am with the last two scenes... I don't want to give anything away, so I continued rambling at the bottom of the chapter...hope that doesn't bother anyone...

Aaaand...Thanks to everyone who reviewed: Sora Kohaku, Renn, Yuki, chibicherrychan (was very flattered by your review, especially since you mentioned you weren't too big on reviewing. I just hope I haven't kept you waiting for this chappie too long...), pikinanou (hee hee...I don't have any t-shirts or action figures, but there's a crappy little background I made on paint for this story on my website, if you'd like to look it up...), Tainted Halo (more Seifer/Zell stuffness this chappie!), Obi (Believe it or not, I was eating popcorn right before I started writing the last chapter; it was my inspiration. :) Also, I too see slash everywhere, which is why I have to warn you; there's random could-be-slash moments all throughout this chapter. Enjoy. ;)), Shido, Nanani (Yeah...my love of Selphie shows in my writing; I can't really help it... But Irvine kinda takes her place this chapter...I dun know if that's better or not though, lol). And that's very long...Eeesh... But yeah, I love you guys muchly! ::hugs::))

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* * *

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**Succession of Witches**  
Chapter Twelve—Movin'

* * *

I lay on my back on Seifer's bed, watching the easy rotations of the ceiling fan as the muffled conversation from the next room drifted to my ears. I wasn't paying attention so much to what was being said—because I _could_ make it out if I concentrated hard enough—but rather to the tone of voice it was said in. There had been no more yelling, but Snap had sounded impatient and angry for a good twenty minutes before Irvine calmed him down. 

I had told them everything; everything I had told Seifer just the day before. And then, when I was finished speaking, I had left them to decide what to do; I had wanted nothing more to do with it. Whether they believed me or not didn't matter; the end result was still gonna be the same.

I'd still be stuck here.

And I guess for a while that hadn't bothered me too much; hell, there were moments I had forgotten that anything was wrong at all. I'm too easily distracted, I guess…

But then again, isn't it better to forget than dwell on how fucked you are?

Probably not, actually… That's gotta lead to some kinda mental illness. Maybe that's what's wrong with Seifer.

Other-Seifer, I mean. Prick pro'lly spent too much time being an ass and not enough time thinking over his life. Or maybe it's not even that…Maybe it's just that he spent _too much_ time thinking about things. Like Squall. Heh.

But why the hell am I thinking about this know? Never tried to psychoanalyze Seifer before… Fuck, I just put him down as being a prick and left it at that.

Things are easier when you define them with one word.

Then what would the word for this situation be? Fucked is good, but you can only use it to describe so many things…

Frickin' hell.

I blinked out of my thoughts, suddenly very aware of the quiet that radiated from the other room. I wasn't about to get up to see what had happened; I didn't wanna speak to anyone at the moment and if they still happened to be outside…

I sighed, glaring up angrily at the fan. It merely spun and blew its lazy little breeze down at my face.

So what was I gonna do now? Just wait here until someone felt bad for me and came to check on me? Well…that had been the plan originally, but I was starting to get really really bored. The kind of bored where you just feel like you _have_ to be doing something, but nothing appeals to you. You don't wanna sleep, cuz you have the urge to do something _constructive_, but the only things available seem so repetitious. Yeah. That kind of bored.

Also…I was still hungry. The past few hours of confrontation hadn't lessened my appetite; if anything, I felt even hungrier than before. I couldn't even remember the last time I had eaten. It must have been last night. Hyne, no wonder my stomach felt as if it was digesting itself.

Outside, I heard a door close, and light footsteps crossing the other Zell's room. I started to sit up, but dropped back down on the mattress; I didn't want to look like I was _waiting_ for them. Whoever it was… I was hoping Irvine, as he seemed the least bothered by all that had happened. He had acted apart from the whole thing: a regular mediator.

But when Seifer's door opened, it wasn't the cheery cowboy that greeted me, but his unhappy partner. Snap didn't even look up as he entered the room, quickly turning around to pull the door shut behind him.

Now I sat up in bed, trying to keep my face neutral as the SeeD crossed the room. He stood in front of the bed, looking down at the white plastic bag he held in his hands. After a few short moments of silence, he looked up, his face serious but no longer the mask of anger it had been. He looked as if, even now, he was thinking things over in his mind. His eyes held that partial glazed-over look Squall's had, when you knew he was only half there.

"I brought you something," he said, and without invitation sat down on the mattress, folding his right leg underneath him and letting the other hang off the side. He slowly opened the bag and drew out a generic pack of plain potato chips, tossing them at me before reaching inside for a bag of Cocoa-Chocos and a Cherry Fizz, my absolute favorite drink in the world.

Snap had just become my new favorite person.

I ripped open the potato chips and dug in without even uttering a word to him. Snap didn't seem to mind. He pulled out an identical meal for himself, but ate with far more reserve than I was showing. I was halfway through my chips before he had even finished licking his fingers after his first one.

"Seifer mentioned you hadn't eaten, and I was hungry myself."

A mouthful of salty chips prevented any response on my part.

"Irvine and Seifer are working on getting us a jeep."

I crumpled up the empty chip bag and reached for the bottle of Fizz. It was wet with condensation and nearly slipped from my fingers.

"But then I guess you don't know the situation, do you?" Snap looked away, slowly munching a chip, as he processed what he was going to say next. I sipped my cherry cola and watched him. He seemed to be a completely different person than the man who had, just hours prior, slammed Seifer repeatedly into the wall. But then, that man had been completely different from the one I had known him as first. It was like he had merely slipped back into his calm persona, as if sliding on a jacket.

It was pretty frickin' weird when I thought about it like that.

"We're taking you to Timber. Irvine and Seifer agree that it would be best if we don't let this escalate into a panic. We're going to have to keep things from Martine for as long as possible."

I screwed the lid back on the Fizz and went for the Cocoa-Chocos. They weren't the best candy in the world, but I was hungry, and little things like candy preferences didn't matter. I stuffed the first chocobo-shaped chocolate piece in my mouth and waited for Snap to continue speaking; there was no way I was gonna comment until he was done.

"We'll think up a cover on the way, I guess. It's at least a three-hour drive." And that seemed to be the end of Snap's monologue, he sat back and finished off his chips, stuffing the empty bag in the white plastic one once he was finished.

I remained silent just a bit more, trying to think of what to say; everything that came to mind just seemed so stupid. I moved to take another sip of my Fizz before a thought struck me, and I spoke before it had even finished scrolling through my mind. "How'd you know I liked Cherry Fizz?"

Snap shrugged, "I didn't. It was the only choice left."

Oh. Well it was the thought that counted. Or some happy shit like that.

Snap gathered up my discarded wrappers and stuffed them in the plastic bag; then he stood and slid his unopened Cocoa-Chocos into his pocket. With his free hand he secured his own Fizz and started for the door, mid-way there, he turned back around, offered me a shy smile, and said simply, "I'm sorry."

I looked down at the bottle of Fizz still in my hand, then back up at him. I saluted him with the drink, "I'd say we're even."

Snap nodded and exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

* * *

In the driver's seat of our stolen Galbadian vehicle, Squall sat hunched over the steering wheel, his foot pressing the gas pedal down as far as it would go. He steered us madly over the sand dunes of the Dingo Desert, running over any monster that dared step in front of the charging hunk of metal. 

I gripped the plush back seat, gazing out the window at the clouds of sand the vehicle's tires were kicking up. Next to Squall, riding shotgun, Irvine held his hat to his head, in an apparent gesture of nervousness. He was speaking quicker than usual as well, expelling words far too fast for either of us to pick them up. I think he might have been talking about the missiles directed at Garden, but there was no telling. I heard Rinoa's name in there once or twice as well, mostly spoken quite negatively. But then again, she had kicked him down a flight of stairs and scratched whole chunks out of his face. I imagined I'd be rather irked myself.

I watched the cowboy for a minute, taking in the nervous flick of his eyes from Squall to the dunes in front of us. He was not happy with the present situation, and though I couldn't blame him, I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with him.

But then again, maybe it wasn't even him that I was so annoyed with.

It was the whole situation really, even myself. I was getting sick of one disaster after another. First the Sorceress portal, then the play-acting, Edea, Seifer's betrayal… Hell, it had been one shitty occurrence after another since I had woken up… When was it? Nearly a week ago… Hyne, but it seemed like so much longer. For once, I'd have loved for something…something even vaguely positive to happen.

But it just didn't look like things were gonna improve any time soon.

I mean, I was right in the middle of a goddamned war here. A veritable Sorceress War, straight out of the history books. What was worse, we were barreling towards a frickin' _missile target_, while the girls drove towards their own personal suicide mission.

Not five minutes after our parting, and I was already missing Selphie. She had been the single positive spark in an otherwise hopeless situation, and now she was gone. Her, Quistis, and Rinoa. All of them had left for the missile base; taking on a mission even I knew was a guaranteed failure. I didn't know what Squall was thinking, letting them just leave like that. Didn't he care? Wasn't he their commander? Wasn't it his job to make sure his men all got back home alive?

Hyne. That's right, isn't it? The whole point was to make sure there was a home to _get back to_.

"Hey! Kid…uhmm…Zell!"

I flicked my gaze away from the window, looking up blankly at Irvine. What did he want now?

A click as the cowboy undid his seatbelt, "Move over a bit, I'm coming back there with you," and he proceeded to climb over the seat. "It's too damn dangerous up here with Grumpy."

Well, I didn't have any reasonable objections so I undid my own seatbelt and scooted over, making room for him to sit down.

Unfortunately, either the terrain or Squall objected to Irvine's relocation, as our vehicle met with a particularly steep dune, tossing Irvine right over the seat.

He slammed up against me, grabbing onto my shoulder to prevent himself from getting thrown under the seat. His hat had gotten lost during his launch, and his hair hung all over my face, and I sputtered, trying to get a bunch of the auburn strands out of my mouth.

"Get off me, Irvine!"

"I'm trying, dammit!"

The car hit another dune, sending us both to the floor. I landed right on top of him, my head banging against his chest. I struggled to lift myself up, only to find whatever efforts I made were thwarted by a series of bumps and dips of the car. Even if the first jolt hadn't been on purpose, Squall was surely torturing us now. A low chuckle drifted back from the front seat and Irvine and I cursed the SeeD in unison.

But Squall was showing no signs of letting up, and after what had to be our thirtieth attempt to get up, Irvine and I gave up; just laying in our tangled heap on the floor of the car.

I rested my head on the cowboy's shoulder, leaning off him as much as I could. With the slack I had given him, Irvine tried his best to wiggle away. And thus we rode back to Balamb, tangled up together, both of us unable to think of anything other than getting up and away from each other. The whole thing was pretty damn awkward, though I imagined that were I to like Irvine even the slightest bit better, I wouldn't have any complaints about our current predicament.

I moved my head enough to remove it from the cowboy's armpit, blinking up at the cluttered floor.

"There's you hat."

"Where?" Irvine whipped his head around so fast he slapped me in the face with his ponytail.

This was going to be a long ride…

* * *

Seifer wasn't talking to me. Well, he hadn't spoken to me since the initial "Get packed" that had graced his entrance into the room. And so, in pure stubborn bastard fashion, I ignored the hell outta him. 

I stood with my back to the door of his room, staring down at the other Zell's duffle bag. Most of his belongings were still packed, but there was the occasional wadded sock ball or discarded T-shirt stuffed into a corner or in the small set of drawers provided by the Garden.

I had gathered everything other-Zell owned, and plopped it all down on his bed. Studying the items angrily, I decided to just throw them all in his damn duffle bag and say to hell with it. It wasn't my shit; why should I give a fuck if it got wrinkled or not?

Then again, even if it had been my shit, chances were I still wouldn't have cared if it had gotten wrinkled. Tch. Whatever.

I was in stubborn mode: I was going to be as annoying as fucking hell until Seifer admitted he was being an ass and stopped ignoring me.

Yes. Bow down before the brilliance of my plan. Mwah-hah.

After the stuffing of the bag, I tugged the zipper closed; it's pathetic little hiss the only sound in the room. And that was sad. Sad and annoying.

So, to break the monotony, I pulled the zipper open, then yanked it closed as fast as possible, the rip-hiss sounding louder.

When that procured no response, I did it again, nearly ripping the little metal zipper completely off its track. I waited, perking my ears to anything, a grumble or curse maybe; that's what I was hoping for.

But…

Nothing.

The jerk was unfazed.

I could remedy that.

_Zip. Zip zip zip. Zip zip zipzipzipzipzipzipzipzipzipzipzipZIPZIPZIPZZzzz…_

Seifer held my hand in place, preventing the zipper from completely closing the bag. I looked up at him, split between joy at the success of my plan, and terror at what he was going to do to me. I could image my face twitching from smug grin to nervous smile, back and forth like that. I almost laughed at the mental image.

Seifer's stern expression killed my manic mental laughter, however, and I shrunk beneath his stare, wondering if that all-important LINE had been crossed.

Had I annoyed him into insanity?

"Zell, is there something you wanted to tell me?"

I wanted very very much to melt into a puddle and burble away. If only I had super-human transmogrification powers…

"Nooo…"

"Having zipper problems?"

I tugged lightly against his grip on my wrist. "Maybe…"

Seifer had the most peculiar expression on his face, as if he was…

A snort.

…trying not to laugh.

Well, poop.

I frowned at the taller man, yanking my hand out of his grip to zip closed the duffle bag. Seifer merely subsided into laughter.

"And here I was, thinking you were _mad_ at me," I huffed angrily, crossing my arms and turning away from him.

"I wasn't," Seifer had to pause to stop his laughter. "I wasn't mad at you, Zell. You just…really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut."

I sniffed, still unwilling to look at him. He wasn't redeemed yet, not by a long shot. "Well, everything turned out okay, didn't it? Now we have help."

"We have one more thing to worry about, is what we have. We have no guarantee the SeeDs won't turn on us."

"You're being paranoid. _I_ don't think they will."

"You also apparently thought telling them you weren't the Sorceress was a good idea."

"Oh, shuddap."

"Aw, come on, Zell," Seifer teased, his voice sounding lighter than I had ever heard it. He might not be admitting it, but he was probably just as glad to have the SeeDs helping us as I was. Sounding airy, generally _happy_, he leaned down, his lips just beside my ear. "Don't be like that."

I couldn't help it; I shivered, closing my eyes and dropping my guard just enough to give him the opportunity to do what he did next.

Arms wrapped around my middle, pulling me back against a firm chest. He breathed coolly against the back of my neck, his lips close enough to my skin that I _felt_ him smile.

"Not cold again, are you?"

Oh Hyne, oh Hyne, ohhhh…

He splayed his fingers over my stomach. They were ungloved for once, and warm, and sliding just far enough below the line of my pants to send my pulse escalating.

I was gonna have a fucking heart attack.

Seifer's hand was down _my fucking pants_.

On retrospect, it's imperative to note that it was really only his last two fingers, and that they were really only toying with the elastic of my boxers, without any apparent intent to move any lower.

But, y'know, when it's the first time that someone does _that_, you kinda get all…y'know…all…

I gulped, my mind racing in frantic little circles, drowning in dumbing, conflicting thoughts of the _touchmetouchmetouchmelemmegoNOW!nowaittouchme _variety. I wanted to bolt just as much as I wanted Seifer to give up the gun and just full-out start groping me.

Hyne, my mind was a fucked up place to currently be residing.

"Zell?"

Didn't he fucking _know_ what he was doing to me? Damned bastard!

Seifer started to turn me around, his fingers sliding across my skin, lifting up the end of my shirt. In my head echoed a two-letter response, growing infinitesimally.

No no no no no… 

Seifer slid his hands up to cup my shoulders. Unwillingly, I peeked my eyes open. His face was creased with worry, with other countless emotions I couldn't possibly hope to name. "You okay?"

I tried responding. A simple 'Yeah' shouldn't have been as hard as I was making it. Eventually, I managed to nod my head.

"I told you I wasn't mad at you, Zell. I'm just…fed up, you know? Everything just seems to be going wrong, one thing after another. I was seriously beginning to think I was being punished by Hyne."

I nodded again, wondering if he planned on moving his hands any time soon. He was moving his thumbs in little circular motions that he probably thought were reassuring. He didn't know the real effect that was having on me…

"But I think things are starting to look up. You might be right, Zell. Maybe Snap and Irvine really will help us."

"Uh-huh…" Why the fuck do you have to stand _so close_? (And, quoth the annoying little bitch of a voice in the back of my head: _Why can't you stand closer?_)

"Just don't worry so much, alright?"

Okay, Seifer. Thanks for the pep talk. Now can ya kinda just…scoot back a bit…just a bit… (_Aww…Why d'you want him to do that for? Ooh! I know! Bite him! He looks like the type who'd appreciate that…) _Eww! No! Shut up! Shut up now!

Seifer patted me on the back, the playful mood he had been in earlier apparently having dissipated. (_Dammit! You lost your chance!)_ "I've gotta finish getting packed, alright?" And he stepped away.

Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure. I might just…" Go take care of a few things… "…go lay down…" (_You big wussy.)_

"Okay, Zell," and he disappeared into his room, leaving me to rush to the bathroom where I'd proceed to duke things out with my conflicting emotions.

Damn them.

* * *

Somehow, during the whole confusing _mess_ that my life had transformed into, Irvine and I had lost Squall. And the really, really, omigod-we're-fucked, bad thing about that was that neither of us could remember _when_ we had lost him. 

"I could've _sworn_ he was just behind us…" Irvine mumbled, turning around in place and scratching his head. He had removed his hat and currently held it by the rim against his hip. When he completed his circle his eyes met mine once again. "And then—POOF—Squall's gone."

I shrugged, a physical manifestation of my mental state. "When was the last time you remember seeing him?"

Irvine replaced his hat, lifting a finger to tap against his chin in a presumably thoughtful, bemused sort of gesture. It just came off as comical. "Weeeell…lessee… I _know_ he was with us after the elevator dropped…"

"We couldn't have lost him _that_ far back!"

Now it was Irvine's turn to shrug. "That's it. That's the last I remember of 'im."

I sighed in exasperation, throwing up my arms and turning away from the cowboy; he wasn't going to be a scrap of help. I couldn't help wishing he had been the one we had lost, instead of Squall.

_((that's not very nice.)) _

_Oh, _now_ you decide to speak up._

_((WE KNOW WHERE HE IS.)) _

_((yeah, zell. unlike you, we actually pay attention to things.)) _

_Fuck off, Minotaur. Sacred, where is he?_

_((AHEAD OF YOU. WHILE YOU AND THE COWBOY WERE BICKERING, HE WENT ON AHEAD.)) _

_Thanks a lot, Sacred._

_((ANYTIME.)) _

_((fuck off, he says! see if I ever help _you_ again!)) _

"C'mon, Irvine! We don't have time for this! Let's just hurry on ahead and hope Squall catches up!" And off I went, mentally congratulating myself on my mad manipulative skills. Irvine, caught somewhat off guard, followed along behind without complaint. Soon enough, the both of us found a rather interesting sight: Squall, fighting a pair of blobs. Big, oil-spewing, white, ugly blobs.

Irvine and I, simultaneously: "Eww…"

Squall slashed madly at the blobs, dripping oil and blob mucus and Hyne-knows-what-else.

I didn't want to, I really didn't want to, but I ran up to help him. Gagging on the horrible stench given off by those…things… Irvine arrived right behind me, his nose wrinkled and his lips curled in disgust. "What the flaming hell…?"

"Oilboyles," Squall muttered, jumping back from an attack. "They're weak against fire."

Quickly taking his advice, I stepped back, just out of reach of the blobs, and cast one of my very very few Firaga spells. I could only hope it'd be worth it…

The right Oilboyle, my unlucky target, reared back in pain, and the three of us stumbled back at the horrible stinging stench of its burning flesh. My flames lit the thing up like a frickin' bonfire, literally melting off its gooey white exterior. Chunks of it fell to the concrete floor, pooling into little burbling puddles, spitting and hissing like a pan of burning grease. The monster screeched in pain, thrashing about all over the place, slinging bits of itself at us.

We slowly moved out of the way, gagging on the fumes released by the fire. The pitch-black smoke rolled up and clouded around the two monsters, the second, unburning one shying away from its dying compatriot.

"Now," Squall managed to choke out, coughing and spitting to get the smoke out of his throat. "Kill the other one now!"

Irvine was the first to react, raising his rifle and opening fire on the left Oilboyle, riddling it with dozens of little holes. He continued firing, opening the thing up with buckshot. Squall attacked next, his Fire-junctioned blade tearing a sizzling gash in the side of the monster, the edges burning black and curling into ash.

And I was last, casting just a Fira this time, though it was enough to finish off the second Oilboyle.

The three of us sat back, wheezing and spitting and coughing up suspicious lumps of black into our hands. The two monsters lay in smoking, burning puddles, their bodies twitching and boiling and turning into ash and crumbling. We watched them just until most of the smoke had dissipated, before inching around the melting bodies and making a run for the back room, for, hopefully, the controls to the Garden and our ticket out of this mess.

* * *

In the backseat of our happy little yellow jeep, once again, I sat next to Seifer, behind Snap, who, once again, rode shotgun. I was using the duffle bag as a pillow, placing it between my happy little head and the window. As the jeep bounced along, it prevented me from getting a concussion. 

Seifer was leaning back, sitting at an angle, so he could stretch out his legs in the floor. His boots were all the way over on my side; bastard's legs were too damn long.

His eyes were closed, and he was holding his own bag on his lap, his now-gloved fingers tangled loosely in its strap. I new he wasn't asleep, but I wasn't about to pester him; who knew what he'd do next.

I didn't. I didn't have a fucking clue _what_ to think about him.

He was a mystery; a bona fide enigma.

And he pissed me off.

I mean, no one _else_ had ever affected me like he had. And that made me both angry, and confused as hell.

And I didn't like it.

Not at all.

Nope.

Not even the littlest, teeniest bit.

…

Hyne, I needed a break.

"Well," Irvine started, not moving his eyes away from the road (a good move on his part…). "I've been thinking, and I might just know our way out of this."

Oh… That sounded very, very promising… "You know how to get me home?" I asked eagerly, leaning as far forward as my seatbelt would allow.

Irvine chuckled, and my hopes dashed to pieces over Seifer's damned big boots. "Sorry, Zell, I haven't thought _that_ far ahead yet."

Well, dammit, why haven't you?

"But I do know how we might be able to keep this from Martine."

"Well?" Snap prodded, "Spit it out, cowboy."

Irvine cast him an unreadable look before continuing. "As I was saying… We should be able to keep this from Martine easy, we just have to play off an already established excuse."

"And that is…?" Seifer asked, opening his eyes at last.

I caught Irvine's wide, white grin in the rear-view mirror. I couldn't help but think how deviously feral he looked. "We tell Martine the Sorceress was worn out; fighting the fake and all. He couldn't translocate us all at once and he didn't have enough strength to make multiple trips."

"So we took a car," Snap finished, looking over at Irvine. "That's actually a pretty good idea… Almasy's used the excuse before so it won't sound fabricated to Martine; he'll just think Zell's a wuss."

"Thanks," I mumbled, squeezing myself back into my little corner of the backseat. Irvine's plan was all well and good for the time being, but I wanted to get home. Now.

"Don't mention it," Irvine replied cheerily, promptly driving straight over a Geezard. The jeep bounced up and over the thing, leaving behind a twitching, squealing, chunk of monster.

* * *

As the previously stationary Garden floated aimlessly along in the ocean, Irvine and I lay stretched out on our backs in one of the abandoned second floor classrooms (No one was going to be teaching when the frickin' school was floating across the ocean.) The linoleum was cool against my back as I stared at the ceiling, counting the number of specks. 

Beside me, Irvine lay with his eyes closed, humming the tune of a song I wasn't familiar with. We hadn't spoken for hours, the last scrap of conversation having been about all the gum wads accumulated on the side of the desk across from us.

We had spent the past two days like this, coming up to this very classroom as soon as we woke up, only leaving for lunch, supper, and bathroom breaks. Irvine came up here, I knew, as he had told me, because he didn't know anyone at this Garden and because he had originally intended to snoop around on the network and find tidbits on Selphie (who I was guessing he had taken a liking to.) After reading the few entries in her public diary, he had tried integrating himself into the general populace, but, as he was from Galbadia, most of the students wanted little to do with him. Those that took the time to talk to him were quickly chased off by his unique brand of teasing.

Irvine was a flirt, plain and simple. And he exercised that skill on anything that moved. _Anything_.

So why was _I_ hanging out with him, then? True, his 'teasing' got on my nerves, but so far it hadn't been so bad that I felt like leaving. Truth-be-told, I rather liked his company.

Besides, with Squall brooding all day, I didn't have anyone else to talk to, and Irvine was a pretty nice guy after you got to know him. I actually _enjoyed_ just laying here with him like this. We never talked about anything of importance, I didn't have to worry about saying anything that'd blow my cover, and he actually learned (eventually…) when to shut up. When I didn't feel like talking, he'd clam up, just like now, and hum to himself or go to sleep. And I was fine with that; it gave me time to think without making me feel like I was hiding from everyone.

Although, truthfully, I hadn't done all that much thinking. I hadn't wanted to. I was just tired, really; I was ready for everything to be over. But, as it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon, I had come to the almost subconscious conclusion to just go with things. Was there anything I could do to improve my situation right now? No. Then why worry about it? I knew what I had to do anyway, there was no use dwelling on it; it'd just freak me out more than I needed to be.

I only wished I had someone to talk to.

Not like Irvine; Irvine was great to talk nonsense with, to play around with, but I couldn't tell him the _truth_. I couldn't share my troubles with him and expect him to sympathize, to help me out. He just wouldn't understand. No, what I really wanted, despite myself, was to have Seifer back. Either one of them. Of course, I was _dying_ to see my Seifer again; I would give _anything_ for just five minutes with him. But I was really starting to doubt I'd ever see him again; and it sucked to realize that.

What really surprised me was how much I missed the other Seifer's company. When we had parted ways, I had known I had someone to depend on, someone who had my back. But now… Now I had no one. I was truly alone, pretending to be someone I wasn't… And that really hurt. It was like waking up to find that everyone you had known, everyone you had ever loved, was suddenly gone. Or, what was worse, warped into a parody of themselves.

I didn't know how much longer I could take it; how much longer I could go without telling someone…

How tempting it was to just turn over, to say, "Hey, Irvine…"

But I couldn't. I couldn't because, damn me, I still had hope. Hope in my Knight, who had yet to fail me, and hope in his counterpart, who already had.

I wondered briefly if I had always been this twisted.

I didn't think so. Old me would have smitten Seifer with a hefty amount of Sorceress magic and have been done with it; or simply would have let my Seifer take care of him.

Or, what was most likely but what I hated to admit to, I would have simply taken his betrayal silently and not let anyone know how much it hurt me.

Kinda like now.

So maybe I hadn't changed that much after all… But I guess the difference came down to how ready I was to forgive him, were he only to give me a good enough excuse.

Hell, just about any excuse and I'd run crying into his arms.

Because I was a big baby, and I wanted to go home.

"Hey, Zell," Irvine was prodding me lazily with his knee; I hadn't even realized he had stopped humming.

"Yeah," I turned my head to the side, noticing that he had done the same, and that he had an end of his ponytail trapped between his lips and that he was currently chewing on it.

I wondered if it tasted very much like shampoo.

"You feel like going downstairs? My butt's startin' to hurt, layin' here for so long."

"I guess. You hungry?"

"Naw, jus' feel like moving."

"S'fine with me then."

"Okay."

So we continued to lie there, staring at each other and waiting for the other to move first. This was how it always was: both of us were too lazy to hurry anywhere; hours of just lying on the floor having dulled our senses to half of what they should have been. My body felt too heavy to move, so I waited for him.

"Alright."

"Yeah."

And we stared at each other a bit more, before Irvine started to grope above his head sluggishly for his hat. I watched his twisting fingers with interest, noting just how pathetic he looked; almost like he had been drugged.

I giggled.

"What's so funny, Dincht?" he asked, mock-angrily, still grasping for his hat, which was actually only about two inches to his left. Ah, now he had it.

"You're too slow, Kinneas," I teased back, smirking.

"Too slow, eh?" and he grinned widely, showing a perfect line of white teeth, "We'll just see about that…"

And before I knew it, he had my hands pinned over my head, while he threw a leg over me and straddled my waist. "Then again, Zell," he said, smug with the advantage he had over me, "Some people like it slow," and he winked at me, settling his hat back on his head with the hand that wasn't holding down my own.

"Yeah," I retorted, my voice just as smug, "But anything with you would be _quick_."

Irvine laughed, letting go of the grip he had on my wrists. "Not nice, Zell," he chuckled, crossing his arms in an effort to look offended, the smile ruined it for him though.

I pushed myself up on my elbows, lifting up a knee to poke him in the back, he took the hint and got off, extending a hand to lift me up, which I took with gratitude. With both of us standing, and me dusting off my ass, I said, "Well, I thought it was a rather clever comeback."

"I admit," Irvine replied, "You get bonus points for that one. Plus ten."

"Why, thank you," I said, leading the way out of the classroom. "So who's winning now, huh? I'd say I have to have at least a good fifty points on you."

Irvine made a curious little snort-like noise and shrugged, "I didn't know we were keeping count."

"So you say, but if you were winning, you'd know the number automatically."

"C'mon," Irvine pleaded innocence, "What d'ya take me for?"

I rounded the corner, turning back at just the right moment to say, "I don't think you want to know," wink, and make a run for the elevator, bolting down the final stretch of hallway.

"H-Hey!" Irvine protested, running after me.

I made it to the elevator before he did, spinning around and quickly mashing the first floor button. The doors had just about closed before Irvine slid between them, launching himself at me. I dodged out of the way as the doors closed, laughing and once again mocking his speed. He retorted with a colorful curse and charged me again, this time anticipating my dodge and grabbing my arm to pull me back.

He pushed me up against the back of the elevator, trying his best not to laugh even as I broke into guffaws.

Imagine the surprise on poor Squall's face when the elevator doors opened to the sight of Irvine pinning me to the wall, threatening me in a voice he imagined to be intimidating (but which really sounded like a stuffy nature show narrator), "Talk, rebel! Or your pretty little ass is mine!"

"Kinneas!" Squall squeaked, completely taken off-guard.

Irvine jerked and quickly released me, turning back around and offering one explanation after another. Somewhere between his stream of "Zell and I were gonna have a quick fuck" and "Wanna join us?" was the truth, but Squall missed all of it, merely shaking his head and entering the elevator with us, promptly pressing the button for the lower level.

"So where we headed?" Irvine asked cheerily.

... ... ...

And, minutes later, as we were confronted by a lumpy yellow blob reminiscent of the Oilboyles, "I had to ask…"

Squall shot Irvine a quick glare before stepping forward and saluting said blob. Irvine and I remained where we stood, a few paces behind Squall. No way was I getting any closer to that thing…

"Sir," Squall addressed it.

The thing leaned forward, its bulbous body pouring over the edge of its metal throne. It regarded us silently with beady little eyes, its long, tentacle-like fingers curling over its multiple folds of fat.

"Fushifuru…fushisuru…" it gurgled, its throat quivering with the noise. Irvine and I exchanged a look, him grimacing at the prospect of discourse with…whatever the hell this thing was.

"Fushifururu… GIVE-YOUR-REPORT-ON-THE-SORCERESS," the creature bellowed, its voice deep and unnaturally loud. Irvine and I took a step back, fighting the urge to cover our ears. Squall, epitome of good SeeD, remained where he stood, calmly looking up at the giant yellow creature.

Without wasting any time, Squall began, "The mission was a failure, sir. We were unable to carry out Balamb and Galbadia's orders."

These two simple sentences seemed to greatly upset the creature, he flung himself back in his throne, slamming his fists against the sides of it. "Bujurururu! BALAMB-AND-GALBADIA'S-ORDERS!? Bujururu…! YOU-WERE-FOOLED!"

This seemed to take Squall completely off guard, he started, immediately straightening his form and squaring his shoulders to hide his surprise. "Sir?" he ventured, his voice so very calm and even.

"THOSE-ORDER'S-CAME-FROM-MARTINE! NOT-BALAMB!"

Somehow…That wasn't very surprising…

"I-ORDERED-MARTINE-TO-ASSASSINATE-THE-SORCERESS! Bujuru… HIS-ORDERS-WERE-TO-SEND-OUT-HIS-OWN-SeeDs!" The creature shook with anger, his entire body quivering as if it were a mass of gelatin. "BUT-THAT-BASTARD-WANTED-THE-BLAME-TO-FALL-ON-ME!"

The guy then proceeded to explain, in roaring, fat-shaking, detail, how he had been betrayed by Martine; how the ass of a headmaster had taken the Balamb SeeDs' arrival as most opportune, and had lied about the orders so the blame for the assassination would fall on NORG (the bubbling yellow blob) and Balamb. If I hadn't hated Martine so very, very much, I might have congratulated him on the craftiness of his plan.

"Fushifururu… BUT-I-CAN-RECTIFY-THIS… I-CAN-SAVE-MY-GARDEN…" NORG said, his voice lowering just the slightest, as if he was thinking aloud. The only problem with this was that Squall was able to hear his musings, and, combined with the rest of the shit NORG had thrown at him, they weren't settling well with him.

"It's not your Garden," Squall growled, his voice low and dangerous. Sensing deeper confrontation, or possibly just for moral support, Irvine stepped closer to him, his hand hovering over his holstered gun. I followed in his example, clenching my fists and coming to stand on Squall's other side. If things were going to come down to a fight, which they usually did, I was going to be ready.

"Bujururu-bujuru! NOT-MY-GARDEN!?" NORG hadn't taken that very well… "WHOSE-DO-YOU-THINK-IT-IS-THEN!? Fushifuru… CID-AND-EDEA'S? THAT-PATHETIC-MARRIED-COUPLES'!?"

Squall and Irvine jerked back; twin looks of shock crossing their features. Yeah…I guess they hadn't known their headmaster was married to the Sorceress… Whoops…

"IT-WAS-CID-THAT-CAME-CRAWLING-TO-ME! Buju… BEGGING-FOR-MONEY-FOR-HIS-PRECIOUS-GARDEN!" NORG pounded the sides of his odd throne. "I-WON'T-HAVE-IT! I-WON'T-HAVE-MY-GARDEN-TAKEN-AWAY-FROM-ME!" He calmed suddenly, his protuberant lips twisting up into a butchery of a grin, "I'M-GOING-TO-FIX-THIS… Fushifuru-furu… I'VE-DECIDED-TO-MAKE-A-PEACE-OFFERING, SeeD…"

I looked up at Squall; the guy was tensed, his eyes darkened and his lips set in a grim line that spelled clearly 'Kill Mode.' Yeah, we weren't leaving today without a fight…

NORG began to chuckle, his phlegmy guffaws shaking his obese body. "A-PEACE-OFFERING, SeeD, TO-THE-SORCERESS. Fushifuru… FOR-MY-GARDEN, I'LL-GIVE-HER-THE-HEADS-OF-CID-AND-HER-WOULD-BE-ASSASSINS!" And then the big, poofy jerk attacked, slamming his fist down on a console along the rim of his throne, mashing some switch that pulled shut the front of it, creating a seemingly impenetrable shield.

"Alrighty," Irvine said, smirking and making sure his hat was perfectly aligned. "Let's kick this bastard's ugly yellow ass."

* * *

((Even more author's notes: Yeah, sorry about this, but I love to ramble, especially when I get the urge to explain myself... And now happens to be one of those instances... So yeah, what I wanted to mention was the Canon-Irvine/AU-Zell (slash mark not meant to be taken symbolically; Zell's still meant for Seifer) moments... I wrote the first for humor purposes (as I had to make up for the last chappie) but the second was meant to be a Zell-making-new-friends-thing. But after I wrote it, I began to worry that it might be too OOC... But Angela really liked it so I decided to keep it in and just blame it on the AU-ness. (At any rate, it was gobs of fun to write. I had the scene playing through my head as I was typing and just broke into hysterics, and so I had to insert it into the story _somewhere_.) 

But for the second bit... I wanted to complain about NORG... I wasn't even 100 percent sure I wanted to add him at all (as he's a big ugly yellow jerk), but as I took the time to copy down a few of his lines and to learn his unique way of speaking as I was playing through the game again, I figured he mind as well make an appearance. So anyway, now I have to gripe about his lines... The ones I made up (paraphrased) I don't have a problem with, but it's that key line ("THAT-PATHETIC-MARRIED-COUPLES'!?") that irks me. Everytime I think of NORG, that's the one line I rememeber, because it just sounded so random, as if it had been thrown in there at the last minute so Squall could find out Cid and Edea were married. Anyway, I wanted to steer away from it, but as it is a key line, I had no choice but to add it if I was gonna have them confront NORG... So there it is. (Fushifururu...)

Anyway, thanks for reading my rambles! Will try to add as few of these as possible...))


	13. Breezy

**Author's notes**: Look! I'm not dead! Praise your deity or non-deity of choice! Woo. So yeah, this is very, very, extremely, omigod-I'm-sorry! late. And I have a stretching list of reasons why it's so late, but I'm not gonna waste your time by going into that. Instead, I'd like to ramble about this chapter a bit... It's longer than usual (yays!) but it also didn't cover even half of what I had originally planned it to cover. Which means another long one next time, I think. Also, and this might just be me, but I'm pretty sure my writing style changes a bit throughout the various pieces of this, as I just kinda added onto it whenever I had time. And to further harp on this, the chapter sounds a bit choppy to me, and there are even places that I out-and-out hate. (It all sounds a bit rushed, and for that I'm sorry. I'll try to improve on the next one.) Aaand...there's not as much humor or slashiness in this chap either (it's really starting to sound like you guys got jipped, huh?) But it is long and there's alcohol abuse! Woo!

Anyway, many, many thanks go out to everyone who reviewed, especially ManicAlpha, who drew a Succession of Witches fanart! Yays! ::much joy:: So I'd like to dedicate this chapter to her, and to link to the various places you guys can look up the fanart. For those of you with deviantArt accounts, check out her gallery here (newfoundaplha.deviantart (dot) com) and comment on her pics! For those without, you can find the pic at my site here (shameless plugging ahoy!): nefariousmarmot (dot) 8m (dot) net/sowfanart (dot) html.

And that's all, guys. Enjoy.

**

* * *

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**Succession of Witches**   
Chapter Thirteen—Breezy

* * *

The sun was just rising when we pulled into Timber, casting a sleepy orange glow over everything. Even my skin was tinted. I watched the strips of orange slide over my arm as we drove through Timber's silent streets. 

"There should be a hotel just down here," Snap informed us, looking up from a map he had pulled out of the glove compartment, "We can get a room, check in, and get some rest before we have to find the Timber team."

"And we have to check in with Martine," Irvine grumbled, sounding none too happy about that fact.

Snap grunted in acknowledgement and folded up his map, slipping it back into the glove compartment. "He's probably not even up yet."

Irvine grinned, his white teeth flashed in the rear-view mirror. "Yeah, all the more reason to call and report."

Snap snickered, a short, derisive sound, and the two shared Irvine's evil grin. Yeah, apparently they didn't like Martine any more than we did. Woo. Martine-haters UNITE.

Or something like that.

The jeep pulled to stop in front of a simple, blue-tinted building declaring 'INN.' Beside me, Seifer stretched, popping the kinks from his body. He yawned, spurring me to do the same.

"So this is it?" I asked, staring at the building as if it would cave in at any minute. But judging by the looks of things, it just might. I mean, I might have given the owner of the Balamb hotel hell, but at least he kept his place _nice_. I didn't fear for my life every time I walked through the door, at any rate.

"This is it," Irvine replied, turning off the jeep and pocketing the keys. He turned to Snap, "You wanna get the room while I call Martine?"

Snap nodded and Irvine reached for the radio nestled between their seats.

Figuring I didn't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when Martine started bitching, I grabbed my duffle bag and exited the jeep, shouldering my bag and circling the vehicle to meet Seifer on the other side. He had bunched his own bag under his arm and was pushing his door closed with his ass, rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up. I hadn't noticed him sleeping at all during the ride, but then again, I had spent my time watching Irvine mow over Geezards as he told Snap bad sex jokes. The guy really sucked at multitasking.

Either that, or he really hated Geezards.

"You two can come with me if you want," Snap declared, walking past us towards the inn, "or you can stay out here with Irvine; make funny faces at him as he talks to Martine, that's what I'd suggest." And then he was inside, his brief monologue silenced by the swift closing of the inn's front door.

I was sorely tempted by his suggestion; getting Irvine in trouble for laughing at inappropriate moments sounded like a great way to spend the morning to me, but then again, I really didn't want to hear what Martine would have to say.

Also, Seifer was already on his way inside, leaving me standing like an idiot next to the jeep. Quickly making up my mind, I had bolted inside before Irvine had even established a connection with Garden.

Luckily for us, the building _hadn't_ collapsed. Woo.

I sidled up next to Seifer, crossing my arms over my chest and trying to act like I hadn't just ran like a crazed moron into the building. Seifer was doing his damnedest to suppress a snicker, and, if I wasn't so busy trying to retain what little dignity I had left, I'd have kicked him square on his ass. Instead, I attempted to ignore him, scouring the immediate area for Snap. He wasn't really that hard to find, in fact, he was pretty much right in front of me, leaning over the counter and addressing the woman standing behind it. He was asking for two rooms, please, with twin beds or at least a single with a cot. His request sounded reasonable enough to me and so I didn't foresee there being any problems. So I immediately let myself be distracted by the charming little train set to my left.

I wandered over to it, dropping my duffle at my feet and leaning over the miniaturized cityscape. I grinned at the happy little train as it chugged by, briefly wondering why I had never wanted one of these as a kid. I mean, this was some cool shit, and all I had cared for when I was little was poseable action figures. The multi-jointed ones were always my favorites… I used to have such fun twisting them into impossibly painful-looking positions—

"Whaddya mean, there're no vacancies? There wasn't a sign outside…"

I looked up from the train set, my thoughts only interrupted because of Snap's raised tone. I retrieved my duffle and wandered back to Seifer.

The woman at the counter, obviously uncomfortable faced with Snap's irritation, hastened to calm him down, "I'm sorry, sir, but we really can't spare any rooms at the moment. I was just on my way to turn on the sign when you came in…"

"Miss," Snap replied, his back and voice tense, "Being the only inn in town, it's really imperative that you _check again_. I'm sure some arrangement could be made…"

"Sir," the woman was getting irritated herself now, "I've told you that we have no rooms available at the moment. I'm sorry to cause you any trouble but if you would just—"

Snap's hands clenched into fists on the counter and he leaned forward just a bit more, causing the woman to back off, "I really hate to repeat myself, but it is _imperative_ that you _check again_."

The woman, disquieted by Snap's utter creepiness, nodded meekly and turned to her computer. She typed in a quick command, her eyes flashing back and forth between Snap and the screen. "S-Sir, it appears we do have one room that was reserved but—"

"How much?"

"Excuse me, sir?"

"How much for the room?" I could imagine Snap's eye twitching, his lips curved in a sorry attempt at a polite smile.

"Sir, it is a reserved room, I can't just—"

"I'll give you 5000 Gil for it if you just shut up and give me the damn key."

The woman swallowed, glancing quickly back to her computer screen, as if that glowing square held all of life's answers. Perhaps it did, because she quickly responded in the affirmative, extending a shaking hand to receive Snap's money and pass him over the key. "The number is 13," unlucky number thirteen, "and it's just past that doorway there," and she pointed helpfully towards the right. "M-May I ask how long you'll be staying with us, sir?"

"No," Snap replied curtly, pocketing the key, "You may not," and he turned briskly, motioning for us to follow him.

We found room number thirteen just a few feet down the hall. The door wasn't anything special, just your average slab of brown wood.

Snap quickly unlocked the room to let us in. "I've gotta go tell Irvine the room number. Can you guys wait here?" Not waiting for the answer, he turned and walked back the way we had come.

As Seifer and I watched him, a stretching silence mounted between us. Once Snap had turned the corner and disappeared from our line of sight, an idea struck me and I pushed past Seifer into the room. "I call the good bed!"

Seifer, stunned for just the few seconds that allowed me to get a head start on him, finally recovered himself and grabbed the strap of my duffle bag, yanking me backwards. "Not if I get there first," he retorted, pushing me to the side and forcing his way into the room.

"Not fair!" I whined, hurrying in after him. He had stopped in the middle of the room and was blocking my view. I pushed him meanly out of my way and set eyes on what we had been fighting over.

The good bed.

The _only_ bed.

"Snap's not gonna be happy about this…" I mumbled, tossing my duffle to an armchair in the corner; predictably, I missed, and the damned thing plopped onto the floor.

"Well, that's his problem, then," Seifer replied gruffly, tossing his own bag to the same chair. Bastard's aim was right-on. "I'm sleeping here; I'd like to see him try to move me," and then he dropped down onto the bed, rolling over to lay on his back and droop an arm carelessly over his eyes.

"Well I'm not gonna be sleeping on the floor," I grumbled, walking around to the other side of the bed. I toed off my shoes, stretched, and jumped down onto the mattress, propelling Seifer a few inches into the air. He uttered a low growling noise, but made no other protest as I settled in next to him.

* * *

We had been drifting for days; going nowhere fast, as the saying goes. Sometimes it felt as if time had stopped, as if my entire world was under the influence of a Slow spell. I had plenty of time to think, to figure out a plan of action, but all I did was zone out, letting my thoughts drift right along with the Garden. 

We were in a time warp, one that seemed to be stretching out simple moments to infinity. I'd find myself thinking sometimes, _Haven't I done this already?_ Or _I've had this same conversation before, haven't I?_ There was an almost palpable sense of déjà vu hanging about the Garden, and almost everyone seemed to notice it.

Irvine and I would be lying out in our favorite classroom when one of us would comment on the lewd illustration scribbled on the side of a desk, or the way a certain shadow resembled so-and-so from the side, and midway through it would occur to us that we had had this same conversation yesterday, or the day before, or even fifteen minutes ago. This got so bad that we stopped talking altogether. Then we stopped coming up to the second floor. The way things were now, I wouldn't even leave my room except to pee or eat. I merely sat on my bed and stared out the window, watching the seagulls crash into each other.

Now, however, was one of those rare moments that my desire for food got the better of me, and I deigned to leave the dorms for the cafeteria. They were having soup today, they had been having soup for a while now, and after getting a bowl, I had settled down in the back of the room, away from the chittering voices of the other students. I normally didn't go out of my way to avoid people, but I really didn't feel like meeting one of other-Zell's old school chums. I just wasn't up to it.

So, sitting glumly in my corner, halfway behind a potted plant, I started in on my soup, which was a simple chicken noodle thing. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't jump-for-joy, fantastic either. I think the cafeteria ladies were getting tired of being out of supplies. Hell, what were they gonna do when they finally ran out of soup? Serve us flour? Salt and ketchup packets? And what then? Would Cid devise some lottery in which the lucky winner got turned into meatloaf? Hyne, that sucked. The worst part was, I could actually see it happening. "_The sacrifice of the few for the good of many!"_ What an announcement _that_ would make. Sure would cause Cid to loose a bit of popularity. Unless, of course, everyone was so starved they were gnawing on their bedposts by that point. But then, hey, there were always the T-Rexuars in the Training Center. Just sic a group of starving junior classmen on them and, voila: steak. And after the Training Center was emptied out, we could move on to the student body.

What a plan.

"Zell! There ya are!" Irvine announced cheerily, plopping down into the chair next to me.

"Irvine?"

"I've been looking for ya everywhere."

"Everywhere meaning my room?"

Irvine grinned, "Pretty much. Oh, whatcha got there? Soup again?" he stuck out his tongue, "Blech. You think they'd be able to find something else. Like, frozen taters or sumthin'."

"Taters, Irvine?"

"Potatoes, whatever," he waved his hand dismissively. "Listen, Zell," and he scooted his chair a bit closer, leaning forward conspiratorially, "I've got something I've been thinking over."

I slurped up a spoonful of soup, "Yeah?"

"Squall."

"What about him?"

"Well," Irvine scratched his head, "I was just talking to him this morning and he seemed really…I dunno, really _down_. Like, I mean, this dude is _bummed out_."

Well, yeah, I had noticed that myself, but I honestly hadn't really thought that much into it. I mean, not only did I not know how other-Zell would react to the situation, but I honestly couldn't muster up enough emotion to _care_. Hell, I hardly cared about _myself_ at the moment, and I was supposed to be worried about Squall?

Fuck, but that sounds callous when I think about it…

"So I got to thinkin' to myself," Irvine continued, "Squall's, like, our leader, y'know? And he kinda helped save the Garden and all, and we're kinda usually pretty dependent on him, so I thought that maybe we should do something to make him, y'know, not be so depressed. Or something." He leaned back, waiting expectantly for my answer.

I felt suddenly very much like an ass. "What do you think we should do?" I asked seriously, determined to make amends for my previously asinine ways.

"Well, I was hoping you would know…" Irvine offered an apologetic grin. "The only thing I could think to do was ask him to go out drinking or skirt-chasing or something."

"You have a one-track mind, don't you?"

"You're just now figuring this out?"

I shook my head, "And you want me to think of something?"

"Yeah. You _are_ his friend, after all."

"Hey, you are, too; don't push this on me."

"You kidding?" Irvine grinned wryly, leaning back in his chair, "S'far as I can tell, Squall hates me."

Wow. I never… "He doesn't _hate_ you, Irvine."

"Well, he's not exactly very welcoming either, is he?"

"That's just his nature, you can't take it seriously." And did I even know if that was true? Hell no, I was talking straight out my ass.

"But still," Irvine dodged the subject, "the fact remains that you've known him longer. What kind of stuff usually cheers him up?"

How the hell was I supposed to know? Fuck, I couldn't just out-and-out _lie_, "I _don't know_, Irvine. Do you ever see him spilling his guts to me or anything? You know how he is; he's probably said twenty words to me since I've known him."

"Wait… So why are we trying to cheer him up then?"

"I dunno, it's your plan."

"Oh, fukkit! Just ask him to go train with you or something; get him out of his damn room, at least."

"Alright," that sounded reasonable enough. I turned back to my soup, swallowing down the rest in a few gulps. Screw manners. I had the plant and Irvine to block the view of anyone who'd care, anyway. I gathered up my used utensils, "I guess I'll go ahead, then."

"Cool. Just report back to me afterwards, alright?"

"Nosey?"

Irvine smiled, "Just a bit."

… ... ...

And so it was I found myself standing outside Squall's room, knocking lightly on his door as I called his name for what had to be the tenth time. I was trying to keep my voice low, so as not to arouse anyone's attention, but my patience was starting to wear thin.

"Squall," I hissed as loudly as I dared, almost forgetting my real reason for seeking him out in the first place.

Finally, just when I was thinking of going psycho on his door, a tired voice from within announced, "It's unlocked."

And then I let myself in.

Stretched out on his bed, watching from under half-lidded eyes, Squall noted my entrance with about as much interest as a log. Not one for trivialities, he instantly demanded, "What?"

Not letting his tone get to me, I pressed on, "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the training center with me. Y'know, kill some T-Rexuars to pass the time." Deplete the Garden of its backup food supply…

Squall continued just to stare for a moment, before his eyes strayed to the side, glazing over as he thought things over. After perhaps a full minute or two he looked back to me, shrugged and slowly stretched his way out of bed.

Well, that was…easy. "Cool," I said stupidly, "Let's…ahh…go then."

"Lead the way," Squall muttered, following me out of his room.

We shuffled down the hallway, Squall striding silently behind me, me with my eyes on the floor and my hands in my pockets. Why did this have to be so awkward? Why did _everything_ with Squall have to be awkward? I just didn't know what to _say_ to the guy. I mean, he'd rarely ever respond, and if he did it was negative. But at the same time, the gaping silence that would inevitably erupt between us was just too…smothering to hang unbroken; I always felt the urge to open my mouth.

Kinda like now.

"So," I cleared my throat, "What's your, I mean, what d'you think about…uhm…things. Now. This," and I gestured to indicate the whole floatingness of the Garden and offset how stupid I sounded.

My hand gestures seemed to confuse him a bit, as he stopped and actually looked around, as if trying to pinpoint what I had been struggling to get out. Moments later, he turned back to me, shrugged, and strode forward, leaving me gaping at his back, wondering what the hell had just happened.

"Whatever," he muttered. "I thought we were going to the Training Center, not having a heart-to-heart."

Okay, way to be an ass, Squall. "That's _not_ what I was trying to do!" I huffed, having to jog to keep up with his long legs. "I just wondered, is all! Don't take it so personal."

Squall snorted and continued not answering.

Fuck, but I had expected that, hadn't I? Squall was only too predictable, but then again, I was a dumbass, who apparently liked ignoring the former. I was better off just leaving him alone. But if that was the case, was there really even a point to this little excursion? I mean, it was good Squall was out of his room and everything, but as soon as we offed a few Grats in the Training Center, he'd just crawl back into his hole and wait for our next orders; just waste away his life watching the ceiling, waiting for something to happen…for someone to take him away…

Kind of like me.

Shit, why does everything always have to be so depressing? Why can't Squall and I be more like Selphie and Irvine? Quistis, even. It's like…we just can't get past all the bad shit; we let it drag us down and consume us, until all we can do is hide in our minds or curl up in a corner and cry. That's fucking stupid! Our lives aren't any worse than anyone else's! If everyone else can go on living, can go on smiling, then what's holding us back?

What is it that keeps us so unhappy? That has us turning back to our pain like it was a fucking salve, instead of poison? Why can't I just forget? Move on? Or just push my fears aside and do what has to be done to get home?

Why am I fucking _waiting_ for someone to come save me? That's _not going to happen_. Hyne, I'm not so pathetic that I can't take care of myself! I should just do what has to be done and quit griping.

Quit deluding myself into thinking some knight in shining _fucking_ armor is going to come rescue me.

Because he isn't.

No one's coming.

It's just me and Squall, watching the goddamned ceiling and tricking ourselves into thinking our dreams can come true.

"Zell…"

I'm not going to cry anymore.

I'm not going to stand around waiting.

"Zell, do you hear that?"

I've just gotta trust in myself more.

In my own abilities.

"It sounds like…"

And I've got to believe that I can still get home.

_"Squall! This is Cid! Get up here immediately! We're about to—" __   
_

* * *

"What are we looking for again?" I whined, kicking spitefully at an empty beer can. 

"A hub," Snap replied, his eyes scanning our surroundings.

"A hub…cap?" I ventured, catching up with my can and kicking it again.

"Are you kidding me?"

Was I? I looked over at Snap's irritated expression. "Nooo…"

Snap sighed, pressing his thumb and index finger against his closed eyelids. "We're looking for some place popular, Zell, where we're likely to get information."

"Like a bar?"

"Yes, Zell, like a bar."

"Well, there's one," I said, pointing out a dilapidated building at the bottom of the flight of stairs we were currently standing atop.

Snap followed my finger, squinting at the soggy-looking building. After a moment, he shrugged. "Alright, then that's where we're headed," he announced, with a tone seeming to say, _Why the fuck not?_ and quickly descended the stairs.

I followed along behind him, kicking my can all the way. I had stumbled across it outside of the hotel, after the four of us had argued over the bed for two hours before deciding that we did kinda have to find the Timber SeeDs. So we had split up, and I had immediately spotted the damn thing, and kicked it out of sheer instinct. But since that first kicking of the can, I hadn't really been able to stop. It was just a childish sort of pull. Every time I decided to leave the can alone, I'd give in at the last moment and run up and whack it hard, sending it bouncing dangerously down the street. Snap found my antics annoying as hell, and that also fueled the urge to _not stop kicking the can_.

So I didn't.

I stopped next to Snap at the bar's entrance, looking over at him to see what was wrong, why we weren't continuing. The answer quickly became obvious. Smack in the center of the door, covered with angry red type, was a paper sign declaring: _NO ENTRANCE WITHOUT ID_.

Snap was glaring at the thing like it was the source of all his problems. Timidly, I informed him, "Uhh…Snap… I don't have an ID." I rested my foot on the beer can, pressing down lightly at first, then harder. The aluminum made distinct crinkling sounds as it bent.

"I don't either," Snap grumbled, "but I don't think that's going to be a problem."

"Why not?" The can was almost completely flat, only its ends curled up over my shoe.

"Because if anyone asks," Snap reached for the sign, slipping his fingers beneath the tape that held it to the door and ripping it clean off, "we tell them we didn't see this," he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder before pushing the door open and striding inside.

As I followed him in, my eyes adjusting to the poor lighting, I couldn't help thinking that Snap was either a complete asshole, or just really, really cool.

"Let's go have a seat at the bar," he suggested, gesturing over to my left. "From there we can scope out any prospects."

"Prospects?"

"Anyone we can hound for information."

"Do I have to hound, too, Snap?" I asked, jokingly.

The SeeD merely looked at me like I was an idiot and pushed me at the nearest barstool. "If anyone addresses us, let me do the talking," he whispered, taking the seat next to mine.

I silently agreed, putting my elbows up on the bar and searching for the complimentary bowl of peanuts. There wasn't one. How cheap was this place?

"What can I do for you two gentlemen?" asked the bartender, who appeared suddenly out of nowhere, just poof, like that. I scowled at him for being a creepy bastard.

"Nothing yet, sir," Snap replied politely, "We're waiting for someone."

"Alright then. Just call if you need anything."

"Will do."

I continued scowling at the man as he slunk away; Snap was watching him too, but with a more neutral look on his face. "So, Zell," he said, keeping his voice low and his eyes on the bartender, "you see anyone that looks even slightly informed?"

I turned my gaze to the mostly empty tables behind us. "What, exactly, am I looking for?"

"Hopefully someone who isn't drunk, that doesn't look like a complete moron."

Alright, that didn't sound too hard… I cast my eyes across the room, being briefly distracted by the television, which showed a woman morphing first into a tiger, and then back. It was kinda trippy, but not nearly as interesting as the man sitting beneath it. He was rather large, as in obese, and had a woman hanging over each shoulder. The guy was bald, with a crazy spiral tattoo on his head, and he was leaning over a pile of dominos, one piled up on the other. He held one in his beefy fingers, and seemed to be pondering where he was going to place it next whilst his lady friends cooed in his ears. He rubbed his many chins with his free hand and licked his pudgy lips. He moved the domino towards his construct slowly, his eyes narrowed and fixed on the pile in front of him. He was just about to set it down when my attention was drawn back to Snap, who had just had some guy fall on him.

"I'm…sorry…ma'am, sir, guy," the man apologized from his position between Snap's legs. He had fallen pretty much against the SeeD's crotch and was trying to heft himself up by way of Snap's thighs. From where I sat, it was a pretty interesting sight and I couldn't help the snicker that bubbled up between my lips. The best thing was, Snap was too preoccupied to hear it.

"Yeah, okay," Snap responded gruffly, helping the guy to stand up. That ended up being a bad move on Snap's part, as the guy was apparently too drunk to stand anymore and just flopped right back over. This time, however, instead of apologizing and attempting to make an exit, the man just went slack against Snap, much to the SeeD's dismay. "What are you…?" Snap mumbled, trying to push the man off of him. Unfortunately, the drunkard was bigger than Snap, taller at least, and there was little the SeeD could do to remove him.

There was also the fact that said drunk had wrapped his arms around Snap's neck, and didn't look like he'd be letting go anytime soon. "Sure are pretty, miss lady…" he slurred, burying his face in the crook of Snap's neck.

It was at this point that I was pretty much hyperventilating, holding my stomach as I dissolved into out-and-out guffaws. The nicer, do-unto-others part of me was insisting I help poor Snap out, but the larger, that's-frickin-hilarious part of me demanded I laugh my ass off at the SeeD's expense.

It wasn't every day, after all, that you got to see your allies get molested by drunkards.

My joy was short-lived, however, because it wasn't long before Snap's predicament drew the attention of the drunkard's supposed keeper. (Wife? Girlfriend?) She was a skinny little thing; short with brown hair drawn up in a brain that hung just below her shoulders. Her baggy light blue sweater and matching plaid skirt completely contrasting with the angry voice that slipped out of her lips.

"Nida?! For the love of Hyne, what do you think you're doing?"

The drunkard I was assuming was Nida turned his head just the slightest, blinking at the brunette. "Hmm?" he pondered, not moving an inch from his comfortable position against Snap.

"I'm really sorry about this," the girl apologized, tugging at Nida's arm. "He's usually not like this at all, but we've had a long streak of bad luck and," she was speaking quickly, and it was all Snap and I could do to keep up with her, "he's taken it pretty hard and he normally doesn't drink, honest, but things were just so _bad_ and I," she had given up lightly tugging and was helping Snap try to pry Nida's arms from around his neck, "suggested maybe getting a drink, see, _just one drink_, but he kept drinking and drinking, and I felt so bad for him and figured it'd be better if he just got it out of his system so I," the two finally managed to pull away one of Nida's arms, "left—for just a little bit, understand?—because I wasn't honestly going to be gone long but now I come back and I see him hanging all over you and I'm _so, so sorry_, sir, you just have to forgive him because he's clearly drunk and he," the other arm was pried off and the girl grabbed Nida from behind and pulled just as Snap pushed, "really doesn't mean any harm," and then, with a final grunt from Nida, he was pulled off and onto the floor, landing with a dull thud on his ass.

"It's…fine…" Snap huffed, standing up and hobbling over to stand behind me. He stared down at Nida, who appeared to have passed out, as if the man might lunge at him at any minute.

"Yeah, it's cool," I told the girl, smiling my best amiable smile, "No harm done."

She still looked a bit worried, twisting her fingers in the neck of Nida's shirt, "Are you sure? He really didn't mean anything by it, I swear."

I waved her apologies away (hell, the little scene had entertained me). "No, it's fine, really," I reassured her. "Snap's secure with his masculinity, I think he's just more embarrassed than anything," and I winked, ignoring the mean comments coming from the molestee behind me.

She smiled then, a shaky smile, but it was progress nonetheless. "Alright, then. If he's really okay…"

Snap nodded in the affirmative.

The girl's smile widened and she bowed slightly to us. "Thank you," she said, before bending down to get a grip on Nida's arms to tug him away.

"Here," I said, upon seeing her struggling, "Let me help you." I hopped down from my barstool and she moved out of the way for me. Quickly, I looped my arms around Nida's chest, right under his arms, and lifted him up, dragging him down the single step from bar to main floor. He wasn't that heavy, he just stank of alcohol. I turned my head to the side to better avoid his rank breath. That was when I noticed it.

Had I not been this close to Nida, I would have missed it completely: a chain, hanging loosely from his neck. Somewhere between falling on Snap and getting yanked off of him, it had slid out from under his shirt and hung half-out over his chest. It appeared at first to be any normal chain, until you took into consideration the curious shape just under his shirt, right where the end would hang. I stopped in my tracks and shifted Nida's weight to one arm. With him leaning back against me, and the girl right at my elbow, asking what was wrong, I reached across Nida's chest and gripped the chain, pulling out a pair of dog tags, flashing the Garden insignia.

"Oh, shit," the girl hissed under her breath, tensing up.

"Snap," I said, turning to face the SeeD and holding up the dog tags, "I think I might have found your Timber team."

Snap's eyes narrowed and he started towards us, arriving just in time to lay a hand on the girl's shoulder before she could back completely out of my reach. "Wait just a minute now," he whispered, his eyes stern, face set in business mode. "We need to talk with you guys, somewhere private," his eyes met mine and flicked quickly to the back door. I got the message and started dragging Nida that way.

"Don't be alarmed," Snap continued to try to calm the girl, leading her towards the door. "We're not your enemy."

"Could've fooled me," she hissed angrily, her eyes flashing quickly over her surroundings as she sought a means of escape.

I reached the door, groping behind me for the doorknob and turning, backing my way out of the bar. Snap and the girl quickly followed, Snap toeing the door shut behind them. He looked up and down the alley we now found ourselves in, frowning at the open widows lining either side.

"How secure is this place?" he hissed into the girl's ear. "Are we free to talk without being listened in on?"

"If you keep your voices low," she hissed back, still tensed and searching for an escape.

Snap nodded to me and I let Nida slowly slide to the ground, leaning him up against a trash bin for support. Then the SeeD leaned down, his lips right beside the girl's ear. "We were sent to meet you. My name is Snap Canta, from Galbadia; I'm with SeeD. And he's," Snap gestured over to me, "Zell Dincht. Balamb's legendary Sorceress."

I smiled and waved in greeting.

I was beginning to rather like that title.


	14. Fisherman's Horizon

**Author's notes:** Oh. My. God. I am so, so sorry it took this long to get a new chapter up! There's really no excuse for me, but, well, things have not been exactly a barrel of sunshine and happiness this past year, and they still aren't (I want to know who stole my happiness barrel), but I've made you guys wait so long for a new chapter, so...I'm posting one! I've restarted this chapter from scratch three times, gradually adding on to this final draft throughout the past year. Therefore...It's all kinds of choppy and disjointed. (You can all start the throwing of the pointy objects at me now. I won't dodge too much; I'm slow.)

But for those of you who will be reading this chapter, regardless of if you'll review, thank you so much for coming back after a year (and more) of waiting. And to everyone who emailed me asking if I had died or when I was going to update the story...I love you all, too. I've made a pact with myself not to start up any multi-chaptered fanfiction until Succession of Witches is finished, so I'm not about to let this story die. (I love Zell too much.) But I'll...shut up now. Not too many warnings or anything for this chapter: there's bad language, some innuendo on Irvine's part, and the choppiness mentioned before. And again...just thanks so much to everyone who's read, or emailed, or reviewed, or fanarted...It all means a lot to me, really.

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* * *

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**Succession of Witches  
**Chapter 14—Fisherman's Horizon

* * *

"_Squall! This is Cid! Get up here immediately! We're about to—"_

The world shook, or, more appropriately, the Garden shook, knocking both Squall and I off our feet. I landed on my side, my elbow slamming painfully against the floor. Letting out a quick bark of pain, I rolled over, instinctively shielding myself from whatever happened to be attacking us. What was big enough to shake the Garden like this?

"Zell—" Squall stumbled towards me, losing his balance and falling forwards onto his face.

The Garden was still shaking, and something was screeching; a horrible, metal-grating-against-metal kind of screech. I wanted to cover my ears, but my arm hurt too bad to move; jolts of numbing pain shot from my elbow. When I moved my uninjured arm down and grasped it with my hand it felt slick and sticky. I tried to turn towards Squall; he was on all fours, holding his head in his arms and cursing. The screeching had lessened somewhat but large splashes were erupting on all sides of the Garden. Was it crumbling?

What in Hyne's name had attacked us? Was it…Was it more missiles?

Shit.

"Squall!" I called, crawling over to him, cradling my arm to my chest. He didn't look up at me, didn't acknowledge me at all. "Squall, you okay?"

All I got in response was a moan and a few choice curse words. I reached out a trembling hand, grabbing his shoulder lightly, in case he was injured.

Jerking under my touch, Squall finally looked up at me, blood dribbling into his eyes from a seeping gash on his forehead. I grimaced at the wound, noticing the forehead-shaped red splatter on the floor. "I'm fine," he grumbled, trying hard to keep his voice even; his bottom lip was trembling with the effort of ignoring his pain.

"What happened?" I asked, unwilling to let go of his shoulder. At the moment, he was my anchor, all that was keeping me from freaking out. I didn't know what had happened, or if it was over or not. But all that was keeping my panic at bay was the irrational notion that somehow holding on to Squall would prevent it from happening again. You know, kind of like in those slasher flicks, when people seem to think they'll be safer in groups. If there was some giant psycho murderer lurking outside Garden, tearing it to pieces, then I didn't want to be alone by any stretch of the imagination; I wanted human contact.

Either Squall was thinking the same thing, or he was just in too much pain to care, because he didn't try to remove my hand. Instead, he actually reached out to me, grabbing onto my uninjured arm (I mentally thanked him for that) and using me as leverage, got shakily to his feet. I followed after him, continuing to hold onto his wrist even after I had used it to pull myself up. I looked around us, trying to spot some sign of what had happened. There was nothing; just the fading of panicked screams and pained moans coming from all sides. The splashing had dulled down some, and the screeching was gone completely.

"We should get up to the third floor. Cid…" Squall scrunched up his face, obviously trying to get his thoughts in order. He wasn't showing it, but I could tell he was just as rattled as I was. His skin felt clammy where I was holding him. "He called us, didn't he?" Squall asked at last, turning to me for confirmation. "Right before…"

"I don't know," I said, thankful that my voice wasn't shaking all that much. Honestly, I couldn't remember. I had been so lost in my thoughts when it happened that I wouldn't have been able to tell anything had gone wrong at all were it not for the pain in my elbow.

"We should try to find him, anyway," Squall mumbled, freeing his hand from my grip only to quickly grab my wrist in turn. That being said, Squall tugged me forward, almost causing the both of us to fall back over. "He's probably on the third floor. Zell—"

"_Squall Leonhart, please report to the third floor immediately!"_

"I guess you're right," I said, sighing as he proceeded to ignore me, dragging us both over to the elevator; it was remarkable the thing was even still working.

It wasn't until we were on the second elevator, the one that led up to the Garden's control room, that Squall realized he still had a hold of my wrist. In his haste to lose the physical contact, he practically threw my hand away from him and out of his grasp. My elbow hurt too much for me to feel offended.

"Squall, thank Hyne," Cid greeted as we stepped off the elevator. The Headmaster bustled over to us, grabbing Squall by the arm and leading him forward, seemingly oblivious to the blood practically coating the SeeD's face. Ignoring me completely, Cid dragged Squall over to the giant glass window that stretched from one side of the control room to the other. With a gesture of the arm that clearly read, "Just look at this," Cid removed his hold on Squall and took a step back, his eyes fixed on the SeeD, waiting for his response.

I wanted so badly to step forward, to look with Squall at whatever lay beyond that plane of glass, yet my feet held me in place. It was easy when it was just Squall or Irvine, but when I was around anyone else the other Zell had known, I always froze up, worrying about what I needed to say or do. This time it was no different; I watched Cid and this other woman—I had been told her name earlier, but for the life of me couldn't remember—from the corner of my eye even as I diverted most of my attention to Squall, hoping to divulge something from his reaction. Unfortunately for me, there was no such thing.

Completely calm, Squall turned back around to Cid, obviously having had his fill of what lay beyond the window. "What are your orders, Headmaster?" he asked; his voice utterly devoid of emotion. Even as I envied him his composure, I hated him for it.

No one had any right to sound that much like a robot.

A strange expression flickered across Cid's face, gone almost as soon as I had noticed it, and his face soon shifted back into an easy, paternal smile. "I think it would be best if we apologize as soon as possible, don't you?" If he thought he was going to get a response out of Squall, he was horribly wrong. "I want you to take your team and head straight out to find the mayor. There, you will apologize most profusely on behalf of SeeD, Garden, and Balamb. You will offer our services in any manner the mayor might see fit. Then, you will report back to me."

Squall straightened up, the orders having been eaten up by his starving, ice-blue eyes. Saluting, Squall uttered a sharp, "Yes, sir," and pivoted, walking straight past me without even sparing me a glance. Was he that upset that I had touched him? Tch.

Once again, I felt the overwhelming urge to look out that window; it was merely a few feet away from me, after all. All I had to do was—

"Zell."

I turned quickly, hurrying ungainly in my embarrassment. If Squall hadn't called my name, how long would I have stood there, staring like a moron? "Sorry," I mumbled as I caught up with him, moving onto the elevator.

Squall ignored me, flipping the switch that would take us down to what used to be Cid's office. Irvine was waiting for us as soon as we stepped off the elevator.

"So," he said, tipping his hat up and away from his eyes; an ugly purple bruise was forming on his left cheekbone, "how many Behemoths were there?"

"What?" I asked, wincing as I bumped my elbow on the railing of the first elevator.

"I mean, I figure there had to be more than one, y'know. As mean as the buggers are, I don't think they can exactly damage the Garden that much on their own." Irvine smiled roguishly at me, fully aware that his attempt to lighten the mood was failing miserably. "So what really—Holy fuck! Squall, what the hell happened to you?" Apparently, Irvine had only just noticed Squall's slowly congealing face paint.

"He hit his head," I answered for him, leading the way onto the second elevator and pressing the button for the first floor as soon as the other two had boarded.

"Well, shit," Irvine rubbed at his own forehead, in precisely the same spot Squall's gash was located. "Looks like you really don't get a break when it comes to head wounds, huh?"

At that, Squall shot Irvine a glare, and I remembered what the cowboy had said about Squall hating him. It looked like he might have been right after all. Well, maybe if Squall could actually _feel_ hate. Seeing how he had reacted in the control room, I highly doubted it. And that reminded me…

"Squall, what happened?" I asked. "I mean, with the Garden…"

"We crashed," the SeeD said simply, almost shrugging.

"No shit," Irvine said, chuckling to himself, "And here I thought the thing was morphin' again. Y'know, first aquatic travel, then robot form. Like that show. What was that show, Zell?"

I could almost hear Squall grinding his teeth, "...into a city," he grumbled, looking away from both of us and crossing his arms over his chest.

Wait, had I heard him right?

"Into a _what_?" Irvine demanded, the smile vanishing from his face.

"A city," Squall answered, still refusing to look at either of us, "The Garden crashed into a city."

"What the fuck's a city doin' in the middle of the ocean?"

I had to hand it to Irvine; no one could vocalize the matter at hand quite as articulately as he.

* * *

She said her name was Vanna, and though I got the impression that that was not her real name, I knew that was all I was probably gonna get out of her. She walked stiffly in front of me, grudgingly resigned to the task at hand. I knew I couldn't really blame her; I'd be acting exactly the same in her shoes, but she was still really pissing me off. 

I mean, hey, it wasn't _my_ idea to lug her around Timber in search of Irvine and Seifer. Nope, that little gem belongs solely to one Snap Canta. Tch. This whole situation was skewed. For one, the angry little broad oh-so-happily accompanying me just _did not_ believe that we were SeeD. No matter what Snap and I had told her, she wouldn't believe us till we showed her the paper print-outs of our orders. Which was probably really smart on her part, but very annoying for the rest of us.

On top of that, I was left combing the city for our teammates while Snap played kidnapper with that unconscious Nida kid. Hyne, that had been something to see. When Vanna had refused to cooperate with us, Snap had gone all psycho-uber-SeeD again and snatched up Nida, relating in oh-so-many words that the drunk'd be in much worse shape should Vanna not comply. And _that_ had shut her up quick enough.

Really? Snap could be a creepy bastard when he wanted to. It just made me glad he had decided to go along with this whole thing; having Snap mad at you is, like, right on par with being trapped in a Malboro stampede. Not. Fucking. Fun.

So where was I? Oh, yeah, the whole shit-tastic situation bit. Woohoo.

It was starting to get dark out, and we had yet to find Irvine and Seifer; as far as I was concerned, I had seen enough of Timber to last me a lifetime. Hyne, and I had thought Balamb was boring.

"Here," Vanna stopped suddenly, drawing me out of my bitter musings.

We stood in front of a ramshackle old building. Or, well, calling it a building was probably much too kind; it was more like four sheets of rusted tin leaning up against each other, with a fifth placed on top to act as some vain rain-deterrent.

Was she kidding?

"What's here?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Looking as if she was only just barely hanging onto her last shred of patience, Vanna sighed and replied, "Your friends."

"Excuse me?" What were they doing? Watching bum fights?

"The woman at the newsstand said she had seen them talking with Old Norman, and this is where Old Norman lives."

Old Norman? She could not be serious.

"Okaaay…So, now what? Doesn't look like anyone's home." It didn't look like anyone had been home for a long, long time.

"Why don't you knock and find out?" Vanna asked, grinning smugly, one tiny hand propped up on a hip.

"On what?" I grunted, "Where's the door?"

"Hyne, why do I even bother?" she sighed dramatically and turned towards the building, tapping lightly on the foremost sheet of tin.

After a few moments of silence, I opened my mouth to inform her that I had told her so, when a gruff voice hollered out, "Gimme a minute, will ya?" and the front part of the house swung out on hinges so covered in rust that the resulting noise could only be compared to, at best, a dozen or so cats being beaten to death.

"Yeah, yeah, wha'dya want?" the man I was guessing was none other than Old Norman stepped out into the quickly-dissipating daylight, squinting up at us from under layers of wrinkles. "Well?" he pressed again, looking at first to me and then to Vanna. After a few minutes spent squinting most furiously at her, his face suddenly lit up, and his lips stretched into a smile, revealing blackened gums and greenish, decaying tooth-stumps. "Ah, it's you, child! Come in, come in!" and he turned to allow us in, beckoning us forward with a wave of his hand.

"How lucky I am today!" he chortled, hobbling on in front of us, "To have so many visitors!"

I followed along behind Vanna, my eyes slowly adjusting to the bad light of Norman's dwelling. From what I could make out, it was one room, with a small cot in one corner and a table in another. Against the right wall was a battered old couch that looked as if, at some distant point in time, it could have been yellow. Upon it sat a Knight and cowboy, the one looking noticeably more bored than the other.

"Zell," Seifer addressed me, standing quickly and making room for Norman and Vanna to enter the room.

Norman clucked his tongue, "No, sit, sit! I've got to introduce you boys!" The old man chuckled to himself, turning to Vanna and urging her to sit on the vacant spot on the couch on the other side of Irvine.

"Sir," Seifer protested, "we're kind of in a hurry, so—"

"Nonsense! This'll just take a minute!"

"No, Norman," Vanna interrupted, taking the old man's hand in her own before he could hobble off to grab a chair for me, "It's okay. I believe they're acquainted anyway." And she nodded her head over to me.

"S'that so?" Norman was watching me curiously, scratching at the stubble on his chin. After a few silent moments, he turned to look back at Vanna. "Is he…?"

Vanna shook her head. "He says he's the Sorceress; says these two are SeeD."

Norman's eyes widened, and he turned completely to stare openly at me. Seifer and Irvine were on their feet instantly; even in the dark I could read their expressions clear enough: they didn't know what was going on, but they didn't like where it was leading.

Neither did I. I highly doubted Norman was a member of the Timber team; what was Vanna doing by blowing our cover like that? Did she distrust us so much? Or…were we the ones to have been misled?

The silence seemed to stretch on and on, getting heavier and heavier. I realized they were all waiting for me to do something, say something, but it was like I had been struck dumb.

"Hmph," Norman grunted, nodding quickly once, "thought I'd seen 'im somewhere before." Grinning again, he turned back to Vanna, "You were right to bring him here, but he's not lying; he's th' Sorceress, alright."

Instead of feeling relieved, as I should have, I felt my gut tighten up suddenly, and a panic flared up inside me. I had the almost paranoid suspicion that this man knew full well that I wasn't the Sorceress. And yet, what reason did I have to think something like that? If he knew, he would have told Vanna. That was why she had brought me here, of all places; to be tested by the old man.

But how in the name of Hyne did he know the Sorceress? Had the other me met him before? Should I act like I knew this man?

It was only an instant, but for that moment I couldn't rid myself of the panic, and it felt as if it might consume me entirely.

But then, once again, Seifer came to my rescue, moving as if to step between me and Norman. "How do you know Zell?" he demanded, his calm voice belying the obvious threat in that question.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, young man; I most certainly do not _know_ him. Just saw 'im once, is all." Norman turned to me once again, smiling warmly, kind of like a wolf would before breaking the rabbit's neck, "You were in Galbadia fer training, I think," he scratched at his chin again. "A year or so ago, I reckon; it was right after the old Sorceress had named you her heir and they were having that big ceremony. Mah daughter had sent me a ticket to come and see th' parade."

I tried to think of what to say, but all I could do was nod vaguely, looking away from his watery gray eyes.

"Well," Irvine said, breaking the silence that I had once again let fall, "I dunno about you guys, but I don't know what the hell's goin' on." Righting his hat on his head and straightening his duster, he looked over to me, "But I guess we should probably be heading back, am I right?" When I nodded, he turned to Norman, smiling amiably. "Well, Norman, it was nice chattin' with you and all, but, well, business comes first, right?"

"Of course," Norman laughed, patting him on the arm, "But you'll have to come back an' see me sometime," without any further prodding he was herding us towards the door, all but shooing us out. He turned to smile at Vanna, who was the last to leave. "You take care now, y'hear? And come and see an old man more often, girl. You know I don't get out as much as I used to." And then the two of them laughed, Vanna waving away his comment.

The whole thing was just so utterly bizarre I almost believed it, but then Norman turned to me again, smiling his wolf smile, and it felt like my heart dropped way down into the pit of my stomach. And it hit me again that he knew the whole thing was a farce, and maybe Vanna knew, too. Maybe the whole thing was just one big goddamn game and they were only toying with me. Any minute now, and they were going to turn and yell, _Psyche! You really think you had us fooled, Zell?_ and then they would laugh their fake laugh and—

"Hey, Zell! Ya coming?" Irvine and Seiferhad already started walking, having left Vanna and I behind with Norman.

Nodding quickly, startled, I ran to catch up with them, unable to explain to myself why I was being so paranoid all of sudden, or why I couldn't entirely wipe away my fears as mere paranoia.

Well, then again, when you took into consideration how fucked over my whole situation was anyway, maybe it wasn't all that strange.

Or maybe I was just crazy.

Like that one…poet…guy. The one that said that thing about the butterfly; how he dreamed he was one, and then became one, or he realized he wasn't dreaming, or, well, it had something to do with him and a butterfly and the two of 'em, like, switching places and stuff, only not really because he was still dreaming or—

Hell, the point is, how am I supposed to know if I'm crazy or not? Like, what if this whole thing is bullshit and I really am the Sorceress, but I'm just too nutso to realize it? Like the butterfly guy.

But, if this was a dream, it was a damn convincing one.

* * *

As it turned out, Fisherman's Horizon was less of a city amidst the ocean, but rather a tiny, artificial island of mechanics, mostly. Odd sheets of black-greased metal stood out at precarious angles for no apparent reason whatsoever; hard metal grating formed the majority of the walkways, until you actually got down into the inhabited part of FH—that's what the locals called it, anyway—where the ground was mostly earth, with rust-covered, skeletal train tracks rising up from it. Makeshift bridges branched off in every direction; planks of wood or tin could lead one up a few levels, or far out into the water, where a houseboat might be docked. The entire place was like…a garbage barge, really. Everything was old and rusted and piled together in such a senseless way that the entire city seemed accidental. But then, once you hit its center… 

"Sweet Hyne," Irvine whispered, his hand moving up to shield his eyes from the glare. "What the hell is it?"

Predictably, there was no answer from Squall; our squad leader merely walked on, reaching the long walkway leading down to the mayor's house in the center of the…giant, mirrored…bowl.

"It looks like one of those solar-power things," I guessed haphazardly, watching Squall with one eye while I tried to figure out the mirror-bowl with the other.

Irvine nodded, "I bet yer right," he agreed. "They had windmills, too, y'know. Must be a whole nest of natural energy right here."

Giving the mirrors one last glance, I headed on after Squall, running my hands along the guardrails on either side of the walkway, I found my way by touch, having had to close my eyes for fear of getting blinded. I could understand the implications of living in the center of this thing if it really was a power source, but if it was just decoration, what the hell was the mayor thinking?

Well, maybe that was giving him too much credit. After being bustled into his house by a less-than-welcoming blonde woman, the three of us were crowed into the mayor's upstairs "office." The guy sat across from us, sitting cross-legged in a pineapple-design T-shirt, green shorts, and sandals. He grinned a strained grin, and introduced himself. "My name is Dobe, and I understand you are SeeDs."

How the word had gotten to him so fast, I didn't know, but our arrival didn't seem to surprise him very much.

"Sir," Squall began, saluting him, "We've come to apologize for," and here Squall paused, for just the slightest of moments, "crashing our Garden into your city."

"Yes, yes," Dobe waved his words away, "Apology accepted. Now tell me, how soon can you leave?"

Irvine fidgeted beside me, and I knew he did not like the short tone the mayor had suddenly taken with us. Even Squall seemed perturbed, and his next words were far more icy and robotic than usual. "We don't know how long it will take to fix the Garden but—"

"Oh, don't worry about that; we'll be supplying as many mechanics as you need to get you out of here as soon as possible. As soon as you give the go-ahead, my men are prepared to begin work immediately."

"Wha—" Squall didn't even have a chance.

"I don't mean to be rude," Dobe interrupted, "But we really don't like your kind here."

"Our kind?" Oh, Squall was getting angry now.

"You know, murderers," and Dobe said it so matter-of-factly that I almost missed the connotation of the last word completely.

"Murderers?" Squall repeated, his hands fisted at his sides, his back gone rigid. "We are SeeD, and SeeD are not—"

"You're mercenaries; bought by the highest bidder to come through and exterminate what they want exterminated. I know good and well what SeeD is."

And the thing was, Dobe wasn't even being belligerent; everything he was saying he said in a normal tone, as if he were speaking about the weather or what he was having for supper. He was calling us murderers in a way that wasn't accusatory, but more…as if it was proven, obvious fact.

What the hell was his problem?

Squall stood silent for a few moments, his head bowed and his eyes were downcast, though his fists shook with anger. "We will need to report to the headmaster," he said at last, his voice as strained as Dobe's smile had been earlier, "before we can okay the entrance of your mechanics into Garden."

"Sounds good, then," Dobe nodded to us, indicating we could leave.

So we did, as fast as we could without running, and as soon as we were outside:

"The _nerve_ of that guy!" Irvine growled, turning back to glare at the ramshackle house.

Despite the anger he had shown inside, Squall ignored us, making his way back up the walkway.

Irvine turned to me, jerking his head the direction of Squall and quirking an eyebrow. I shook my head in reply; I didn't understand the guy, either.

Irvine sighed and removed his hat to wipe the sweat from his brow. "It's because he lives in the middle of a fucking toaster oven," he mumbled. "Fries his brain," and at that, Irvine twirled his finger in a circle besidehis temple, letting out at sharp whistle to further indicate how crazy he thought Dobe was.

I tried my best not to snicker and mounted the walkway, once again closing my eyes to the sun. "I don't know what his problem is," I started, "But the bastard sure likes his pineapple."

"Hyne, that was the worst shirt ever," Irvine grumbled from behind me.

I started to laugh, and opened my mouth to retort with a scathing remark about Dobe's fashion sense when a shout of alarm echoed down into the mirror-bowl. The metallic rainfall of boots on grating announced the man's presence long before his repeated cry of, "Galbadians!"

The three of us froze, moving to the side to let the hysteric man pass. At my back, Irvine mumbled a quiet, "What in the…"

Squinting against the harsh light, I turned to look up at Squall, trying to gauge his reaction. Judging by the man's panic, I took it the Galbadians weren't here on exactly friendly terms. Were they here for us? Of course they were; they had to be. But…how had they caught up to us so quickly?

"What do we do now, Squall?" Irvine asked suddenly, moving closer to us.

"It's…not our concern," Squall grumbled. "He said he didn't want any trouble out of us, right?"

"But… Shit, Squall, you know they came here for us," Irvine protested.

From the direction of the mayor's house a door slammed, followed by a quick shout of "Dobe!" The light all but blinded me as I struggled to see what was happening.

"I think something's wrong," I mumbled, pushing past Irvine to make my way back down the walkway.

"Hey Zell, wait up!" and Irvine and Squall were right on my tail. Waiting for us at the end of the walkway was none other than the blonde woman from before.

"This is all your fault," she accused, jumping at us as soon as we were in earshot. "You see what happens when we get involved with you people?"

"Dammit, lady," obviously, Irvine didn't care much for patience, "we haven't even been here thirty minutes and you call that 'being involved'?"

"Where's Dobe?" Squall cut in, shooting Irvine a mean look. Irvine merely glared right back. Neither of them were too happy with the other at the moment.

The woman shifted in place, looking fretfully back over her shoulder. "He went after them, to try and talk to them. He said there's always a chance to resolve things peacefully and—"

Squall cursed loudly, abruptly turning and storming away. The woman watched him with wide, suddenly frightened eyes. "Don't you dare do anything!" she shouted after him. "We do things our own way here! We don't want your bloodshed!"

_Our_ bloodshed. Shit, as if we held the copyright or something.

"Fuck," Irvine tapped his foot in impatience, looking from the woman, to Squall's retreating form, then back again. "This is ridiculous!" he yelled at last, throwing his arms into the air. "Zell?"

I was already ahead of him, following after Squall. "He's going to get himself killed if we just stand around here." I wasn't sure exactly what I planned to do to prevent that, but I knew I had to do something. Dobe had been a complete asshole, but I'd be something even worse if I just left him to the Galbadians. He was trying to help his people, after all, and even if his method was sure to fail, he was still trying, and risking himself in the process. There was something noble in that, and I think Squall might have realized that, too.

And, well, maybe we were murderers. But…but that didn't make what we did meaningless, did it? Squall and Irvine could justify it all they wanted, but in the end, they killed people for money. Sure, they were killing bad people, but there's really no distinction in murder, is there? But by degrading their existence like he had, didn't Dobe also drag down everyone who ever came into contact with SeeD?

It would be nice if things worked the way Dobe wanted, if there were really no need for SeeD or the Sorceress or any of it, but the fact was, there _was_ a need. And Dobe was a fool for ignoring it.

Squall was waiting for us at the top of the walkway, one of the Galbadian army's robots in pieces at his feet.

"We goin' after him?" Irvine asked, kicking a metal forearm out of his way.

Squall nodded, staring down at his feet. "Yeah," he said.

* * *

Nida lay sprawled out on the One Bed, his mouth hung open and a thin trail of saliva glistened its way down his chin. I sat at his feet, poking listlessly at his leg as Seifer and Snap argued with each other. Vanna sat beside me with Irvine on her other side. She sighed, having finally become resigned to the fact that we were, indeed, SeeD. I hadn't totally forgiven her for the stunt with Norman, but now that her hackles weren't raised, she was a pretty decent person; almost the girlwe had first metin the bar. 

"Just be glad they're not pissed at you," Irvine said sagely, gesturing to the other two. "That wasn't very smart, you know, that shit you pulled with Norman."

Vanna shrugged, then changed the motion fluidly into a stretch. "I told you guys he's alright. He's been a reliable informant for us the entire time we've been stationed here. Believe me, you can trust him."

Irvine snorted and tipped his hat down over his eyes, laying down on Nida; turning the sleeping man's stomach into a pillow. "Whatever. Jus' wake me when they're done."

Vanna rolled her eyes at him, sighing again in annoyance. She leaned forward, propping her elbows up on her knees and resting her head in her hands; her braid slid down over her shoulder and hung to the side as she turned her head to watch me. "So you're the Sorceress?" she asked. "You're not really what I pictured."

Despite her actions earlier, her words didn't seem too threatening. She still made me feel a bit uneasy. It didn't look like she suspected a thing, but how she looked at me was…weird. I couldn't place it, but it was familiar somehow.

"Well, what were you expecting?" I asked, trying to ignore my slightly bubbling paranoia. "And please don't say a woman."

She smiled, and unlike most of the people I kept meeting, it actually seemed to reach her eyes. "Get that a lot, huh?"

I sighed dramatically, shaking my head, "More than you know."

"Well," she moved her hand up to her lips as if to cover a laugh, or her smile, "You'll be glad to know I wasn't expecting a woman, then. I had heard you were a man, I just…"

"You just what?" I wasn't sure I liked where this was going.

"I guess I was expecting someone more…mature."

Oh, that was wonderful.

"And I'm not mature?"

She giggled, shaking her head, "Not really. You just spent the past ten minutes drawing invisible stick figures on Nida's leg."

Damn, I had been found out.

"So? S'not like there's anything else to do." I pouted, crossing my arms and sticking out my lower lip. I was aware I was only furthering the immature image, but at least I got her to laugh again. Hell, if she liked me, she'd be less likely to question my Sorceress-ness, right? Damn, but I was a crafty devil.

"FINE." Snap growled. "We'll do this your way. But just so you know, I don't trust that…that…" and Snap gestured angrily in Vanna's general direction, "…that _brat_ in the least."

"Brat?" Vanna was on her feet while I grabbed for her arm to hold her back. The last thing we needed was her getting Snap pissed off again.

"Canta," Seifer replied gruffly, "You and I both know the quickest route would be to go straight to their headquarters. And the quicker we get done here…" He trailed off, and Snap glanced quickly over at me. Grudgingly, he nodded.

That's right. The sooner we got done here, the sooner they could deal with me. Their other problem.

Seifer turned to Vanna and I, "I hope that's not a problem for you. I'm sure it's also in your best interest to finish things here as quickly as possible."

Vanna nodded. "It doesn't matter really," she said. "Our HQ or yours. Though," she glanced pointedly around the room, "I can't imagine this place being, well, very secure."

Snap glared. That was really all he needed to do; had he spoken, his anger might have caused someone to spontaneously burst into flames.

"Well, this is great and all," I spoke quickly. As amusing as watching an angry Snap could be, I was getting pretty bored of it. That, and both Irvine and Nida had started to snore. "But shouldn't we, like, be leaving or something?"

"Whatever," Snap sighed, defeated. "Wake up Kid Alcohol and the cowboy. I'll go get the jeep started." So saying, Snap exited the room, mumbling to himself all the way.

I looked to Seifer, to Vanna, and then to the two forms sprawled on the bed. Seeing as how no one else seemed to be taking the initiative, I leaned forward slowly, prodding at Nida's leg. "Yo. Wake up, guy."

"It's not 'guy,'" Vanna scolded, "It's _Nida_. And if you're going to wake him up, you're going to have to try harder than that; he sleeps like a log." She backed away from the bed, rolling up the sleeves of her baggy sweater. "Now stand back."

"Why?" What was she gonna do? Jump on him?

"I'm going to wake them up." She smiled innocently at me, before barely allowing me time to move out of the way before she cast Water.

As Irvine and Nida struggled amidst the now-drenched sheets of the bed, coughing and spitting what looked like very, very cold water, I inched my way over to Seifer, stopping at his side.

"I changed my mind," I told him, "You can have the bed."

* * *

Just the barest tickle of pain as my fist connected with the soldier's jaw, and then he was down, and Sacred was turning me around full-circle, Minotaur raising my leg just enough to catch a second soldier in the side. Every so often, when Squall and Irvine's backs were turned, I could work in a shot or two of Sorceress magic, taking the Galbadians down in my own fashion. 

It was strange, but I was getting used to the two playing puppeteer with me. Fighting through the first few scuffles with Sacred and Minotaur acting as my guides had been…awkward. Now, though, I could just barely feel them acting at all.

_((we're too smooth for you.)) _

_((IT'S CUZ WE'RE A TEAM!))_

My heel smacked into a third soldier's shoulder, bringing him down long enough for Irvine to cast a Fira over my shoulder.

In summary: we were kicking ass.

"Geez," Irvine whined, removing his hat so he could wipe the sweat from his brow. "How many guys did they have to bring? The whole fuckin' continent?"

Squall merely snorted, too busy wiping blood from his gunblade.

"Well, I guess it's nice to know they're not underestimating us anymore," I said, rubbing my knuckles; they were starting to hurt.

"Nice? Don't you mean annoying?" Irvine replaced his hat and stretched.

"We should keep moving," Squall interrupted, brushing past the both of us. Shrugging, Irvine and I moved into step behind him.

"I wonder what benefits come from being in the Galbadian army," Irvine leaned down, throwing his arm around my shoulders and half-leaning against me as we walked. "I mean, it _has_ to be something good, what with them getting their asses handed to them all the time."

I poked him sharply in the side, only to cause him to lean even more heavily on me. Poking him a second time almost had the both of us stumbling to the ground. "Not _all_ the time," I countered. "What about the whole Sorceress-assassination thing? I seem to remember not handing them their asses then."

_That_ got him to let up. "Aww, such a low blow, Dincht. What happened to playing nice?"

I laughed at his mock-hurt expression. "Since when have we ever done that?"

Irvine grinned his best roughish grin. "Well," he said, lowering his voice and leaning down to speak directly into my ear, "if you enjoy playing dirty so much…"

I poked him again and slipped out of the subsequent embrace he tried to catch me in. "Whore," I accused, trying to keep my face as straight as possible.

Up ahead of us, Squall made a noise somewhere between a snort and a cough, and sped up in a vain effort to lose the both of us.

"Such language!" Irvine tittered behind me, clucking his tongue and most likely shaking his head in over-dramatized disapproval.

Had it not been for the gunshots that followed, I might have forgotten entirely about the ordeal with the Galbadians.

"Shit," Irvine cursed as the three of us dropped to our knees and crouched, peeking stealthily over the bridge we had been walking across. Right beneath our feet, Dobe stood shakily facing a red-dressed commanding officer, who was pointing a machine gun most menacingly at him.

"I'm not going to ask a second time," the officer said. "If you don't tell me where Ellone is, we're going to burn this whole goddamn city to the ground."

Squall tensed up beside me, but I didn't take my eyes off the mayor.

"I swear I don't know who you're talking about. No one like that has ever set foot here before!"

I had to hand it to him; despite the current situation, Dobe had still somehow managed to keep calm. Poor bastard was still trying to pull off the pacifism thing.

"Well, that's a pity then, isn't it?" the commanding officer hefted his rifle, aiming it squarely at the center of that bright, pineapple shirt.

"Squall?" Irvine started to stand. "We goin' down there or what?"

Squall started, yanked out of whatever reverie he had slipped into. "Yeah, we are. Gotta keep that fool from getting himself killed."

With that, the three of us jumped directly into the fray, easily taking out the officer. The giant robot that crawled straight out of the ocean, however, was another matter entirely.


End file.
